The Beginning of All Things
by Bawks
Summary: After Aria suffers in a terrible accident, she finds herself given a second chance at life in Middle-Earth. She meets Boromir, Gondor's captain, and builds her life in M-E with all the excitement and hardships that go a long with it. 'Sort of' 10th walker
1. Prologue

Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Tolkien's. Anything you don't recognize as his, is probably mine, however.

* * *

Aria picked up her slippers and stretched her arms over her head, feeling her muscles stretch and extend as she reached for the ceiling of the studio. Cracking her neck to one side, she adjusted her top. She had been practicing for her last recital for the last six hours, and could barely feel the tips of her toes at this point. This recital was pivotal, however. There would be agents visiting from at least five well-known dance schools, and this was Aria's moment to shine. She had been practicing and waiting patiently for this day for her entire life, and ever since her father's death, dance was the only thing she had left.

Aria's father had been a normal family man. Family man minus the family. Aria was the only person he had left in the world, and he was the only person left for Aria. Her mother and father had gotten a divorce sometime in her early childhood, and she had moved away halfway across the world to start a new family. They heard from her on Christmas and Easter, and on the occasional important birthday. Sometimes she sent Aria unwrapped gifts without a card.

But Aria was happy. Her father may not be a talkative man, but he was reliable and steady, and that was enough for her. He worked in the local metalworking factory, and held a good unionized position there. They made enough money together to get by and to pay for Aria's dance lessons. Contrary to popular belief, Aria was not a ballet dancer. She was a contemporary jazz dancer hell bent on attending a big-name dancing school in a big city. She didn't particularly care which one, as long as it got her out of Longwall.

Longwall was the small, quiet town she had moved to with her father after her mother left. Its only attractions were the metalworking factory, and a few old buildings and a church, remnants from when the town was first settled by the French a few centuries earlier.

Make no mistake, the buildings were glorious. The houses were small and quaint, and if one focused hard enough, they could easily picture the daily bustle of a large family living inside. There was another building, a farmhouse, that was still in use today by a friend of Aria's family. The Sackvilles had been living in Longwall for generations, and some say that the farmhouse has belonged to their family ever since it was built. Aria seriously doubted this, but she was thankful that it was theirs, as it allowed her some entertainment in the dull town. She was one among many children who had learnt to horseback ride there, a favourite past time of the townspeople. With no cinemas, libraries, malls or dancehalls, there were few sources of true entertainment in Longwall.

The last of the old buildings, and perhaps the most important, was the old church. It was a beautiful sight, to be sure. Aria was not a religious person in the slightest, yet, like everyone else, still found herself drawn to the church. For Aria, it was not the spirituality of the church that drew her in, but the quiet, peaceful atmosphere inside. It was nearly always empty, except for the clergy who ran its weekly services. Underneath the sturdy structure was a webwork of passageways and catacombs that seemed to run for miles. When mapped out however, one would notice that they really only ran to the end of the street. As a child, Aria and many other loved to explore their dark depths, looking for adventure or ghosts. Nowadays, Aria was one of the few people her age who still visited the old church.

Today, after a grueling session in the dance studio, she finally felt prepared to face her audience in a few days. Before heading home, she thought she might go to the church to read a while. It was dark outside, not overly so, but it was dark. It was mid September, and though it was not too cold, the lack of sun gave the air a noticeable chill. She was briskly to the church, which like most things in the town, was no more than a half hour's walking distance away. Along the way, she stopped to greet a few other walkers, smiling warmly through the folds of her loose coat.

When she finally reached the church, the door was closed, but unlocked as usual. Stepping inside, she felt the surge of warmth, and the scent of old wood and burning candles. There were always candles burning in the church, especially in front of the icon of the Mother Mary. She stepped right past the icon, not even looking at it, and over to the pew closest to the front. She lay her coat on it, and put her bag down beside the confessional to her left. Taking out her book, she sat on her coat, and curled her feet underneath her,

"Good evening, Aria." an old, but gentle voice said quietly. Everyone was quiet in the church, even if there was no need to be. Aria looked up suddenly to see the face of Father Peter in front of her. She smiled,

"Good evening, Father. I'm sorry to intrude so late, I just wanted some peace and quiet before going home."

He smiled at her, and patted her on the hand that lay on the arm rest of the pew, "That's quite alright, my dear. You know the rules, as long as you are quiet and promise to come to mass on Sunday, there's really no problem."

Aria laughed. This was a joke between her and Father Peter. He had told her, years ago when she first started to come to the church, that she could stay as long as she wanted, as long as she came to mass. Aria, however, was not religious, and never actually showed up. The Father understood this, and let her stay at the church anyways. Now, it had become a joke between them, as they both knew that she would never attend the service,

"Of course, you know how much I enjoy your sermons, Father."

The old man laughed joyfully, then walked over behind the altar, and into the private chambers behind it. Aria returned her attention to her novel, and was quickly re-absorbed by its mesmerizing tales. She was reading the Silmarillion, by Tolkien. One of her favourite books. A few moments later, she heard a loud pounding on the old church's oak doors. Looking around curiously, she looked for any sign of the Father coming out to open the doors. Seeing no one, she put her book down, and walked towards the doors. The visitor's pounding travelled the walls of the church and echoed loudly into Aria's ears. When she reached the door, she opened it to find a rather frail looking woman on the other side.

Curiously, she wondered how such and old woman could create the reverberating pounding that shook Aria's attention,

"Can I help you?" Aria asked quietly. The woman was wearing a hooded coat, and pulled the hood out of her eyes,

"Can I come in? I've been walking for ages, carrying all these bags. I would very much like to put them down."

Aria looked at the woman curiously, and decided that she was hardly a threat to her, or the church. Opening the door wider, she let the woman in, and carried in two of her heavy bags. The bags were filled with what seemed like total nonsense. There were cans and tins, and small wooden boxes, and utensils and bits of iron work, and cloth, and anything else imaginable. She set the bags down at the opposite end of the church from where she had been sitting before. The woman sat down with a resounding thud, and put the feet up on the knee-rest underneath the pew,

"Oh, it feels good to sit down at last. I'm getting far too old for travel by foot."

Aria was shocked. She couldn't recall any moment in her life when she'd heard of someoen travelling long distances by foot for no reason. Usually someone had cars, or took a bus or train, and at the very least, hitchhiked their way around,

"Would you like for me to get you something to drink?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you." Aria got up, and grabbed her bag before heading to the small room beside the washrooms. There were cups in here, and a sink. There was a small stove, and a kettle set upon it. It was a small kitchen, without a fridge or counters. In a cupboard by the stove, there were boxes of tea and tins of coffee, as well as a small, unopened box of cookies. She took the box of cookies and boiled some water. With the box in hand, she went out into the main hall of the church. The woman was still sitting on the pew, with her eyes closed peacefully,

"Here, this is all I could find, if you're hungry. I've put some water on to boil, and I can make you a cup of tea," Aria said, handing the woman the box. She opened it, and pulled out four cookies. She kept three for herself, and handed Aria the last one. Aria bit into the cookie, and chewed it slowly, before asking the woman a question,

"So...what do you do?"

The woman smiled, and Aria could see the cookie crumbs between her teeth. She swallowed before answering, "I am a traveller. I grew up in a city not far from here. I got tired of the hustle and bustle of city life, so I sold my house, my car, end everything else I owned but that clothes on my back, and I set out to do something. I didn't know what it was, but I wanted to do it. That was forty years ago, and now I'm trying to get back to where I came from. I'm close to dying, and I want to die where I was born."

Aria nodded in comprehension, but remained silent. She didn't know what to say to the woman. The beautiful sound of the kettle's whistle saved her from the awkward moment she was in, and she told the woman she would be right back with her tea. In the kitchen, she prepared the tea without milk or sugar, as she couldn't find any. Pulling her teabag up and down to make it steep faster, she closed the door with a well-placed foot behind her. Trying not to spill the tea on the church floor, she focused on the cups as she walked. When she finally looked up, the woman was gone. Confused, she sat down on the pew and put the cups down beside her.

The woman appeared the have left with her bags. There was nothing left, and Aria didn't hear anything from the open door of the kitchen. She thought it very strange that she would not hear the closing of the great oak doors, or the footsteps of the old woman's boots echoing in the aisles. The looked around the church for any sign of the woman's leaving, and found nothing. With the two cups of tea in hand, she went back over to her things on the other side of the hall. Putting them down beside her again, she made to take up her book. Suddenly, she stopped, with her hand still raised over the novel. On top of the flat surface of the novel's cover, there was a small wooden box, adorned with the cravings of leaves and vines. A little brass clasp kept the box closed, and she pried it open quickly, and curiously.

Inside the box was a small pendant. The box was empty save for the tiny piece of jewelry. It was a tree. A small, little silver tree. The tree had no leaves, and its branches looked smooth and curved upward, with many smaller, more crooked branches sprouting off of them. The roots of the tree were short, and on the top of the each branch was a star. There were seven branches in total. It was a beautiful little pendant, she thought. It looked to be made of silver, though she was no jeweler and did not know for sure. She placed the pendant back in the box, and ran outside to look for the woman. If this was hers, surely she'd want it back. The wind whipped her hair into her face as she walked out onto the walkway in front of the church. She looked in every direction for any sign of the old woman, but could find none.

Not knowing what to do next, she went back inside. She placed the little box into a pocket on her bag, and went back to her book. She could not concentrate. Her mind kept reeling back to the old woman, and the pendant. Since she was not able to focus, she thought it best that she just leave the church. Packing up her things, she put on her coat, and exited the church throuhg the side entrance.

Back at the church, two cups of steaming tea sat alone on the pew.

A/N: Alright! So that's the prologue. I'm posting the prologue and the first chapter at the same time, as I think prologues are usually pretty boring on their own. I've tried my hand at writing many Lord of the Rings fanfictions in the past, under many different pen names, and I think I've finally settled on one that I'll really enjoy. If any of you are reading this after reading The Valar's Jest, I'm really sorry that that'd been on hiatus for such a long time. I went on vacation to Greece, and after that I started school, without a lot of time to spare for it. Then I got this spark of inspiration for this story, and I rekindled my love for Boromir, so I have a sneaking suspicion that this story will take precedence over The Valar's Jest. Sorry!

As always, R&R, please! I'm desperate to hear what you all think!


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Aria, if you don't hurry up you're not gonna make it there on time!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Where are my slippers? Oh, my god. I can't believe I lost my slippers today of all days. Are you serious..."

Aria scurried around their small home, searching high and low for her slippers. It was the day of her recital, at last, and sometime between the night before when she'd practiced, and this very morning, she had misplaced her slippers. Her father was waiting by their beaten up pick up truck to drive her to the city where her recital would be held.

Aria ran into the living room, and began to look underneath the coffee table, side tables, and any other surface she could find. Finally, underneath a dog toy and a pile of magazines, she found one of her slippers. The other wasn't too far off, lying underneath a pillow. They looked a little worse for wear. It would seem that her dogs had had some fun with the the night before. They were slightly damp, and covered with little pock-marks, and there were indentations where teeth had clearly tried to pierce the soft leather,

"I found them! Let's go!"

Rushing over to the truck, she hopped in as quickly as she could manage. She haphasardly pulled her hair into a low, loose bun at the base of her neck. Pulling up her leg warmers before putting on her seatbelt, she looked at herself in the rear-view mirror. She looked exhausted. She had barely slept the night before, too nervous but to sleep fitfully. The drive was long, but Aria took the opportunity to sleep.

They stopped at a coffee shop quickly, to get Aria something to shake her out of her sleepy state. She sipped the coffe, black with lots of sugar, slowly as they approached the venue where the recital would be held. There would be many scouts there, and she hoped desperately to catch the attention of at least one. Then, finally, she could leave Longwall, and make a life for herself elsewhere. At twenty years old, she really had no interest in going to university, though she dearly loved to learn. Her dream was to dance, or so she thought.

* * *

Pulling her bag out of the car, she walked slowly and shakily towards the entrance of the building. Surrounded by other impeccable looking dancers, she began to feel extremely intimidated. Most of these dancers had competed in big cities, and had had opportunities like this before. Aria had never been to a competition, and seldomly performed in front of anyone but the familiar townspeople at the small arts studio they had. She waved goodbye to her father silently, as he went off to the stands where the rest of the observes and family members sat. Aria found a place to lay down her bag, and she sat there, stretching mindlessly until she heard the first name being called. Going in alphabetical order, she knew that she would be somewhere near the beginning.

After what seemed like an eternity but could have been no more than fifteen minutes, she heard her name being called,

"Aria Walker Rose,"

This was it. She exhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a moment as she walked on stage. She stood in the centre of the stage, and nodded to cue her music. For a moment, she gaze shifted towards the scouts and agents watching in the first row. None of them were looking at her. This made her feel better, and so, on cue, she began to dance.

The music made her feel alive, and she moved with as much poise and grace as she could muster. It seemed odd to her, to force grace, but she had to pull out all the stops this time. When it came time for her first jump, she saw one of the scout look up quickly. This made her nervous, but she tried hard to press on. She could feel the hair in her bun beginning to come loose, and she let it be. Streaks of hair flashed in front of her eyes as she danced slowly, but with purpose, to the low rythm of her music. When it came time for the second jump, she could feel the power building up in her legs. With great force, she propelled herself upwards and forwards, twirling as she did it.

She had overestimated the size of the stage. All at once, she felt her foot land on the stage, and the other still clinging to the air. It missed the stage, and she went flying off of it. The audience let out a resounding sound of alarm and shock, and her body colided with the floor, five feet under the stage.

Aria felt her legs and back hit the floor, and then she felt nothing at all. Her head collided with the corner of a speaker, and her neck hit the edge with a painful crack. She became completely limp as she lay there, breathing raggedly. A warm, clear liquid began to leak out of her nose and ears slowly, and then all was black.

* * *

When Aria woke, she blinked several times before noticing that she was in a hospital room. She could hear the heart rate monitor beeping behind her somewhere, and she made to sit up slowly, and look around the room.

She must have been very week, indeed, if she couldn't lift her arms. Trying as hard as she could, she couldn't lift herself up. She tried to speak, to make her presence known to anyone around, but instead choked on the breathing tube that had been put in her mouth and nose. When she tried to make any kind of noise at all, she found that she couldn't. She simply lay there, her mind reeling, wondering what was going on. Had she been drugged? Sedated? She didn't understand.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a young looking nurse walked into the room. Upon noticing that Aria's eyes were open, she rushed out of the room, presumably to fetch the attending physician. Instead of just the doctor, her father returned with them as well. He had tears in his eyes as he held her hand, and told her how much he loved her. Aria lay motionless, not knowing what to do, or even if she could do it. She blinked feverishly, wanting nothing more than to yell or call out, or to ask what was wrong with her,

"Mr. Rose, there will be time to be with Aria in a bit. Right now we need to fill her in on what's happened to her." the doctor said, laying a comforting hand on her father's shoulder, "Aria, you took a fall while you were dancing. You landed on the edge of a speaker, and sustained an irreversible spinal cord injury. With years of physical therapy and treatment, you may be able to regain the use of your neck, and perhaps your autonomous breathing, but that is most likely all. You have been paralyzed from the neck down."

Aria was in shock. She closed her eyes, and willed them never to open again. Finally, she opened them,

"Blink twice slowly if you understood what I've told you."

Aria blinked twice.

* * *

For weeks, she was fed and sustained through tubes, machines and I.V.s. For weeks, she did nothing but stare mindlessly at the walls, or watch TV shows. Her father visited sometimes, but never for long. She thought it probably pained him to look at her so helpless.

She slept a lot. After a while, she forgot the taste of food. She forgot the smell of the leaves, or the old wood of the church. Sometimes, when she was lucky, the nurse would dress her and take her into the back parking lot, just so she could see sunlight. Today was one of those days,

"Here you go, sweetie. I've brought you a nice dress. I found this with your things that you came to the hospital with," from under a pile of clothes, she pulled out a necklace. It was the one that the old woman had left her at the church. The branches of the tiny tree where glinting brightly in the sunlight, and if she could, Aria would have beamed at the sight of it, "You want to put it on, don't you, honey. Well, here you go."

As the nurse reached around Aria's neck, she suddenly felt a little more alive than she did before. The feeling passed quickly once the nurse shifted her around, and into the wheelchair.

They went around the parking lot several times, and the nurse was even kind enough to bring her to the small patch of grass by the back entrance. Aria tried to breathe in the smell of the grass, but couldn't, with the tube in her nose in the way. If she could have, she surely would have cried.

Later that evening, she watched Jeopardy on TV. Answering the questions in her head, she flushed when she knew she had gotten an answer right. What is the Battle of Hastings? Who is Steve Jobs? She was proud of her wealth of useless knowledge. Aria began to live inside her mind, where she dreamed of running through forests, or dancing in a meadow. Clichéd, perhaps. But, at this point, Aria would have dreamed of going to the washroom on her own.

It made her very melancholy to think of her existence this way. Some days, she wondered if any of it was even real. Maybe she was having a nightmare before the day of the recital, maybe she was just dreaming during her nap in the car. Yet, every time her father came to visit her, the slap of reality hit her in the face. His tears could not have been conjured up by her mind, and his pain could not have been more real. She longed to reach out to him, to squeeze his hand. Instead, the older man sat on the edge of her pale blue hospital bed and cried. Slow, hot tears trickled down his cheek as he told her how sorry he was.

And yet, no one was sorrier than Aria. She was sorry that this had to happen to him, especially after his wife left him. And she was angry, angry that something like this had to happen to her.

She received a few phone calls from her mother, where she simply sat limply on the other line while her mother cried, and told her that she loved her. Even if she could have, Aria would not have responded.

She came to visit once. She brought flowers and videos with her. She read to Aria for a while, but it was a stupid book that Aria didn't care about at all. She was almost happy when her mother finally left.

Over time, she began to retreat more and more into herself. She began to blink at people's questions less, just to get them to go away. She watched less and less Jeopardy, and she answered fewer and fewer questions when she did. Now, she rarely got them right.

She could feel her mind slipping away from her slowly, and she began to sleep more often. Her dreams were the only place where she still felt alive in any way. She started to hate the machines that were keeping her alive. She hated her father for keeping her there, her mother for calling. She hated the doctors for saving her life, and she hated the nurses and their stupid strolls around the parking lot.

Depression came quickly to Aria, engulfing her like a riptide engulfs a swimmer.

* * *

One night, Aria was woken up by the harsh hospital lights being turned on. Her father stood at the door, and locked it from the inside. He stepped quietly over to her bed, and sat down on the edge. He was shaking, and crying,

"You know I love you, baby. I always will."

Aria blinked twice,

"I know you're hurting inside. I know you are. Tell me, Arie, do you want to stop hurting now?"

Aria paused, mulling the idea over in her head. She knew what he was asking her, and she knew that there was no hope for her left. She blinked twice. Her father let out a sob and nodded. With one hand, he reached into a small bag he carried with him, and pulled out two syringes. He walked over to the other side of her bed, and unhooked her I.V.

With one hand, he reached up an caressed her cheek,

"I love you, Aria. I'm sorry and I hope you find something better."

He slid the needle of the syringe into the I.V., and ejected the clear fluid into her wrist. All at once, Aria felt a surging, burning sensation flow through her body. She could feel it going up her arm, around her underarm, and into her chest. Then, she felt the stretching, tightening, and burning of her heart.

Her mind reeled. She could feel the pain of her heart pumping frantically, and she could feel the burning in her blood. Somewhere, far away, it seemed, she could hear her father's racking sobs as he squeezed her hand. This was the end, she knew it. She heard the sound of her father unplugging the evil machines that were keeping her alive. Slowly, she could feel her body, for the first time since her injury. She could feel everything slipping away from her, into a spiraling, swirling vacuum.

Her father's sobs, the ragged breathing, the pumping of her heart. All at once, it all stopped.

And then, it was over, and everything was black.

* * *

The funeral was held on a beautiful September morning. Small white flowers adorned the graves around hers. What was left of her family and friends were there, it was a small occasion. She received an honorary acceptance to a performing arts school in the city where the accident had taken place. The agent said she had earned it.

Her body was encased in gleaming black casket, and the sun reflected coldy off of its enameled surface.

Her father was present, backed by two policemen in civilian clothing. He had been arrested and charged for the euthanasia that he was performed on his daughter. He had pleaded guilty, and resigned to his fate in prison.

Songs were played for her by her friends, and many kind words were said about her. Father Peter performed the service, and she was buried in the graveyard just outside the back of the church. They thought to give her a place in catacombs where she had loved to play as a girl, but the townspeople had voted against it, saying that she would be happier knowing that future generations could play down there, without worrying about disturbing her grave.

At the end of the service, everyone gave their respects, and went on, with sadness, in their daily lives.

That night, as she lay in the ground, something remarkable happened in the cold, moist eart of her grave. The necklace that had adorned her neck at the time of her death an burial, disappeared.

Later, when the diggers came to cover her grave, they noticed a peculiar lightness in the casket. They would lift it far too easily. Finding this very strange, but unwilling to look inside, they continued with their work. Little did either of them know, that along with the pendant, Aria's body was also missing.

* * *

She woke to the sound of rushing water nearby, and the crinkle of leaves beneath her as she shifted her weight.

She had shifted her weight. Shifted.

Aria stopped. She lifted her hands in front of her, and made two fists. Frantically, she made fists again. Not believing her eyes, she closed them and tried to get up. With ease, she legs folded themselves beneath her, and she pushed herself up with both hands.

She stood there, oblivious to her surroundings, when tears began to pour from her green eyes. She brought her hands closer to her face, and breathed in their smell. They smelt musty, as if she had been laying on the ground. She reached up to her dark hair, and pulled leaves out of it.

Her wandering hands found their way to her neck, where the pendant lay just below her collar bone. Then she began to walk. She walked through the clearing, crying incandescantly happy tears the entire time. From one end of the clearing to another, she paced until she came upon the source of the sound of rushing water. She knelt, a feeling she had felt in weeks, beside the stream. Cupping her hands, she reached into the stream and drank the water. It was fresh and cool, and tasted wonderful. Realizing how thirsty she was, she drank more and more.

Finally satisfied, she looked around. It looked to be early afternoon, she guessed, as the sun was directly overhead. A gust of wind blew by, and she shivered, but reveled in the delicious feeling of cold on her skin.

Not to be broken from her reverie, she breathed in the smell of the air. It was thick here, and smelled of forest. She was completely at peace doing this when she began to hear a strange sound. The sound of hooves, not many, but some. She looked around curiously, until all of a sudden, a great dark warhorse shot out of the trees, and right at her. Quickly she moved out of the way and ducked behind a bush, so as not to be trampled.

Her heart was in her throat, and beating wildly with the shock of surprise. But, she laughed heartily. To feel alive again was beautiful! She looked past the trees quickly, looking for any sign of the horse, but it was long gone.

Strange, she thought. It had a saddle on it. She couldn't recall the details, but she chuckled at knowing that whoever had lost the horse also lost their saddle.

Suddenly, it occured to her that she had no idea where she was. Maybe, she was near the farmhouse? But she couldn't recall there being any forests nearby, or anywhere at all near Longwall. Maybe she was near the city? But there are few forests, and even fewer horses in the city. Where was her father?

And then she remembered. Suddenly, she was frantic. She had died, this much she knew. No one could mistake the sound of their own heart ceasing to beat. Confused, and frightened, she began to sob. It was all too much.

Suddenly, slow footsteps made themselves known. From the same direction in which the horse had come from, stepped a dark-haired man. He looked down at her, sitting on the forest floor, crying. She looked up at him, and could remark on nothing else but his strange attire. It was at the precise moment of seeing the large sword on his side, that she screamed loudly.

The man seemed to be jolted from his confusion, and slapped a hand onto her mouht,

"Eru, woman! Be quiet! These lands are not safe, and it would do you well not to draw so much attention to yourself!"

Eru. Did he just say Eru? What kind of freak was he? When it seemed like she would not scream again, he released his tight grip on her face. She got up slowly. She was tall for a woman, at 5'7, but he was much taller still. He had shoulder-length dark hair, and the most clear grey eyes she had ever seen. He was handsome to be sure, but he seemed rugged, and worn from tavel. She took in his appearance, his strange dress, even his bizzare looking pack bags that were slung across his shoulder,

"Who are you?" she asked slowly. He raised his eyebrows,

"I could ask you the same thing, my lady."

Aria chuckled at this. My lady. Ha! This guy was good, she thought, but she knew his kind. He was probably on his way to a renaissance fair or something...or a live-action roleplaying game...or something.

"I'm Aria." she could not think of a fake name, and there was really no harm in only telling him her first name,

"I am Boromir. Where are you from, Lady Aria?" he replied simply, helping her up off the ground. He decided that she was no threat. She was clad in a simple, short, and sleeveless dress. She could have no place to hide weapons in there, and he was a far superior warrior anyhow. It was then when he truly noticed her strange appearance. He took in her dress and her face curiously, and then his eyes wandered onto the pendant at her breast bone, "Ah, so you are Gondorian then."

Aria paused for a moment, and then burst out laughing, "You have GOT to be KIDDING me! Okay, _Boromir, _you can let up the act now. So where are we, are you lost too?"

Boromir was surprised by her outburst. This woman was mad, surely. There was only one thing to do with mad people, you had to appease them.

"We are near the Gap of Rohan, my lady. And, if you must know, I am not lost, but my horse seems to be."

Aria shook herself off, and stood at full height. There was laughter on her face, as she looked Boromir in the eye. The Gap of Rohan her _ass. _It was then, when she took in his appearance fully. His costume was far too elaborate. He must have spent a fortune on it, if he thought he was Boromir. He had a horse, too! Not just any horse, mind you, but a warhorse. She began to pale. She looked around her, the trees didn't even seem familiar to her. The sky looked clearer, the sun shone brighter.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, there was rustle in the bushes, and out came a dark creature, sputtering and crying out. Boromir unsheated his sword quickly, and parried the creature's first blow. Aria stood dumbfounded as she watched the man fight with the familiar thing. Boromir kicked the creature in the chest, and as it fell to the ground, he stabbed it in the gut, then sliced off its head.

The thing's head rolled over to where Aria was standing. It lolled a bit on the floor, before stopping, face staring upwards at her. It was an orc. It must have been an orc. Dark blood began to ooze from it, and Aria felt dizzy. Boromir rushed over to her, sensing that she was beyond taken by surprise. He cleaned of his sword and sheathed it just in time to catch Aria as she tumbled to the ground, unsconscious.

He sighed, and pick her up in his arms. He picked up his things, and decided to look for a place to set up camp.

He found a smaller clearing, somewhere off the nearby road. Rohan was not as safe as it once was, and orcs were roaming freely across the land. He did not yet trust this woman, and in fact, he thought her quite mad, but he he couldn't simply abandon her to the ravishment of orcs or worse.

He lay her down on his bed roll, and tried to start a small fire. She would not doubt wake up soon. When one faints, it usually isn't for long.

* * *

It really wasn't long before she woke, eyelids fluttering madly. She sat up, and then fell back down again,

"Careful, my lady. It is usually best to rise slowly." he put his hands on her shoulders, and eased her up gently.

"Uh, thank you...my lord."

God, that sounded bizarre slipping off her tongue. She wanted to call him Boromir, but was unsure of whether or not that would be allowed. He was noble, and the first born son of the Steward of Gondor. She was...well, she didn't really know what she was here.

Here. Where was here? Could it be possible that she was in Middle Earth? She drank in her surroundings, and her mind fluttered back to the slain orc. There was no way that could have been fake. She was not a gullible person, but that was just too real. Boromir looked over to her, curiously. He studied her for a moment.

The young woman had long, dark hair, similar to that of his own people. Her eyes were not so light, however, as to make her of Numenorean descent. He could not tell exactly, but suspected that they were a very dark green. She was tall, for a woman. She seemed very fit, and was rather slim. All in all, not such a bad sight. Her feminine, yet strong facial features seemed paradoxical to her manner of behaving. Swooning at the sight of a dead orc. That was nearly unheard of in these perilous time!

"Lady Aria, I do not mean to pry, but I must know who you are. It is not safe for a woman to be travelling alone in such times, surely you know this."

Aria paused, wondering what to say next. Should she tell Boromir who she was? Or should she pass herself off as a normal, albeit strangely dressed and manner woman of Gondor? There really was no sense in hiding it from him. She suspected, given his situation, that he was on his way to Rivendell for the council of Elrond. There was no way that she would be able to hide her identity from Elrond, let alone Gandalf, whom she knew would be there as well.

"My Lord Boromir, Son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, I'm sure you have gathered that I'm not from here."

Boromir looked puzzled at her knowledge of his title, but listened on intently.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I am from somewhere, and right now, I'm not sure where, in relation to Middle-Earth. Perhaps it is far in the future, or a different world entirely. I really cannot be sure." She paused for a moment, to study Boromir's reaction. He did not look surprised, but nor did he look like he comprehended. She decided that as long as he didn't look like he was going to burn her at the stake, she would press on, "In my world, I am a dancer. It was my dream to enter a school for dancing, to better my skill. When the day came for me perform in front of the people who would chose my school for me, there was an accident. I broke my spine at the neck, after taking a fall off the stage. I lost all control over my body from the neck down. I was helpless, and useless, and beyond lame."

Boromir's face softened at this. He could not imagine life without movement. As a warrior, his physical abilities had always been of the utmost importance to him.

"I was being kept alive in a healing house by machines. In my world, we have a lot of machines. They help us in our daily life, and do simple tasks for us. This particular machine was constantly pumping air into my lungs, because my body could not breathe on its own. One night, my father came to visit me. It had been weeks since my accident, and there was no hope in recovering the use of my body. I was broken, and I wanted to be set free so badly. He gave me a substance to make my heart stop beating, and he stopped the machines from keeping me alive."

"I don't know what happened next. I felt myself die, and then, I woke up here, in the clothes I must have been buried in"

Boromir was silent for a few moments, taking in Aria's story. Aria studied him patiently. He looked pensive, but not angry of afraid, as she thought he might be. He seemed to have finished mulling it over when he finally spoke,

"That does not account as to how you know about Middle-Earth, and myself. I did not tell you about my title, or my position as son of the Steward."

Aria had been afraid of this, what could she possibly tell him? The he was fictional? That he didn't exist? Clearly he did, and so she didn't really know what to say. But, she had resolved to tell the truth, as she knew there was no sense in hiding it,

"In my world...Middle-Earth is a place in books. Like a legend. A man named Tolkien wrote about Middle-Earth, and many people in it, and the events that spanned across many ages here. He wrote about you, and your brother, Faramir, and your father. He wrote about a lot of people. In my world, these books are cherished by many people, who have all read about you and your life."

Finally, thoughtfulness etched itself onto Boromir's face, "This is an interesting tale indeed. I am not wholly sure what to think about all of this, though I do not believe that you are lying. I am on my way to-"

"Rivendell, I know. To see Lord Elrond about your dream."

Boromir was beyond shocked. No one, save his father and Faramir, knew of the dreams he had been having. He looked at her incredulously, "That is remarkable indeed, Lady Aria. Perhaps Lord Elrond will have some answers for us there. However, we are a long ways yet to Rivendell, and you have no supplies. We are not far from Dol Baran, I think. We should stop there tomorrow and I will get you something more...suitable to wear. Tell me, my lady, is it customary for women in your land to be buried in their night clothes?"

Aria laughed heartily, for the first time since their meeting. Boromir could not help but smile at the sight of her laughing joyfully. Full of giggles, she responded,

"These aren't my nightclothes! This was my best sundress!"

Boromir did not know what a sundress was, but thought that Lady Aria's land must be strange and wondrous indeed, if this was considered someone's best dress. After their laughter subsided, they decided that Aria was in no way fit to travel today, but that they must set out anyways.

* * *

That evening found Aria pondering what would happen when she finally reached Rivendell. Would Lord Elrond be able to send her back? She knew he was powerful, but was not sure if he could perform such a task as this. She thought about this for a long time, her brow furrowing. Boromir looked up from the the tiny volume he was reading by the fire,

"You looked distressed, Lady Aria. Is something amiss?"

Aria frowned, "I was just thinking about home."

Boromir lay his book down on the cloak he was sitting on. He looked at Aria with interest, "Do you miss it there? Your family? Surely they miss you."

Aria nodded, "I do, but that's not what I was thinking about. If Lord Elrond should be able to send me back to my home...what would that mean? My body there is dead, or broken at best. What would I be returning to?"

He thought about this. Returning to a broken body and a father in jail for his acts was no good life, to be sure. Ge gathered, from what she had told him, that she did not have much of a family left there, and though she was fond of her home, there was not much holding her to it.

Aria was thinking deeply about this matter. Would she want to go back home? Or did she simply want to know why and how she got the Middle-Earth. It was strange, indeed, for her to think of herself as being in Middle-Earth. It still took a lot of focus for her to really let that fact sink in. On occasion, throughout the afternoon, she imagined herself walking in a forest with a friend, or napping at the church when she slept on Boromir's bed roll.

It was still a difficult thing for her to believe, and Boromir was in concordance with this. She was a strange young woman, to be sure. He found himself both wary and in awe of her. She spent the evening telling him about her home, and something called films, which were like plays on a magical window. He was in total awe of her home, and it sounded wonderful. Machines that flew! Machines that travelled faster than the speed of five horses! He could not believe his ears when she told him of water that came out of pipes in the ground, and travelled all around her town.

She also told him of a weapon that could destroy land for hundreds of miles for decades, and machines that could trampled over villages and homes. She told him of the history of her land, and of men who had destroyed entire populations. Her home was both beautiful and dreadful to behold.

"I don't think I'll go back there. Even if Lord Elrond were to find a way to bring me back with my body intact, I don't think I'll return." Aria said simply after telling Boromir about the tradgedies of her world. Things seemed so much more clear in Middle-Earth. The fine line that divided good and evil was easier to see, in this land. "I can't go back to being helpless when I have found my strength again."

Boromir dwelt on this for a few moments, "My lady, you said you had been a dancer. It would please me to see you dance again soon."

Aria smiled warmly at Boromir. She fully intended to do so, one day. For now, however, it was time for her to sleep. It had been a trying day, filled with much to think about. She settled onto Boromir's bed roll, and fell into a fitful sleep. When the air went cool, Boromir laid his cloak about her shoulders and torso, covering as much of her exposed flesh as possible. She looked at her as she slept there, her face illuminated in the fire.

She was interesting to him, to say the least. A more innovative travelling companion the Valar could not have given him, and for that he was greatful.

* * *

The next morning, Aria woke to the smell of burning wood and leaves being moistened by splashes of water. Boromir threw the small pot full of water over their small fire, and began to cover up their traces.

Aria stretched like a cat in the sun, and felt Boromir's cloak slip off her shoulders. She smiled, it was very kind of him to give her this. Noticing that she was finally awake, he smiled,

"Ah, 'tis about time! We must set out soon, I'm afraid. The sun is already high enough in the sky, and we have a great deal of ground to cover before we reach Dol Baran. Here, I have a clean set of breeches for you to wear today. You may keep my cloak until we reach the town."

Aria took the profered breeches in hand. Holding them out, they looked much too big for her. Boromir was a tall and strong man, she was a lithe dancer! There was no way these would stay put around her waist! She heard a clanking sound, and looked up to see Boromir brandishing a thin belt, that would surely do for holding the breeches up.

"Turn around, I'm going to put them on."

Boromir oblidged, and blushed with his back turned to her. He tried not to think about what her pale, creamy legs would look like underneath her dress, let alone in his breeches. What? He was a man, after all, and a man who had been travelling for a long time, no less!

"Alright, I think I'm ready." she ran a shaky hand through her long hair, ruffling it a little bit, staring down at the copious amounts of excess fabric pooling at her feet. Boromir looked at her a burst into hearty laughter,

"Oh, I think they suit you fine, my lady!"

Aria walked past him, giving him a little shove as she did so. She handed him back his cloak. It seemed like a warm enough day, today. She suspected it would get colder as they moved North, but was unconcerned at the moment, "You do not want the cloak today? You will not be cold?"

Aria smiled, "The land I come from is much colder than Rohan, my lord. I'll be fine, I'm sure."

Boromir shuddered at the thought of a land colder than Rohan. To him, in the Southern Kingdom of Gondor, Rohan was already much colder than he was used to. His clothes, however, we built for winter travelling, and thus kept him sufficiently warm. He was astounded to see Aria walking around, gathering the pots and other odd ends in nothing but his breeches and sleeveless gown. She looked completely unbothered when a gust of cool wind blew by the trees.

She looked up at him, sunlight shining on her face, "Come on! Let's go!"

He chuckled, and set off after her, towards the road. They wanted to keep it in sight, without following directly on it.

The hours passed quickly, as Boromir and Aria talked pleasantly about not only Aria's home, but of Gondor and Boromir's life as well. Soon enough, Boromir stopped referring to her as 'my lady', or 'Lady Aria'. After the events of the day and the night before, it seemed strange to refer to someone who was wearing your breeches in such an official tone. Aria was pleased about this, as it allowed her to not have to make use of the terms my lord, and Lord Boromir anymore. It really did not flow from her lips very readily.

They talked about her, and her family. Boromir learned that her full name was Aria Walker Rose, a nice name, he thought, though she did not resemble a rose. She was lovely, to be sure, but not excessively so. She had strong features, very noble. If he hadn't known, he would have thought her to be of Numenorean decent, as he had thought upon first laying eyes on her. Her told her of the mischief that he and Faramir got up to as children, and she told him about her friend, the boy who had the horses,

"You ride, then?"

She nodded, "Not extremely well, but I'm comfortable on a horse. I had a personal favourite at home. She was was a lovely dapple-grey mare named Nimrodel." Boromir's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "My friend let me name her. What is more lovely than that?"

Boromir nodded in agreement. She looked out of breath, though, he knew they could not stop until Dol Baran. It was clear to him that she was fit, but had scarcely journeyed further than her home on a regular basis. There were few in Middle-Earth, even, who travelled much in the last years.

For hours, they walked on, occasionally stopping to chew on a dry hunk of bread, or to check a map. They were approaching Dol Baran quickly now, though they couldn't see it ahead. The range of the Misty Mountains blocked the small town from their sight, but Boromir insisted that they were close now.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Aria, she caught sight of a collection of small shops and houses nearby. A wide smile broke onto her face as she thought of the prospect of being able to put her feet up. The dancing shoes that her father had put on her at her funeral, to remind everyone of her passion, were comfortable for dancing, but not comfortable for long hours of travelling in varying terrain.

She began to hum quietly, a favourite song of hers from home, and skipped her way towards the town. Boromir laughed, seeing her frolick about in this child-like manner. It was particularly amusing, as she was still wearing his breeches, and she looked quite ridiculous. He caught the sound of her humming,

"What is that you hum, it sounds lovely."

Aria smiled, "It's a sad love song. Not very popular where I am from, but I like it just the same. Would you like to hear the lyrics? I'm no singer, but the song is quite pretty."

Boromir nodded, walking closer to her, to better hear the lyrics,

_"You and I, we make a grand salute, _

_ stare at each other, like lost little birds across the room. _

_ And I remember the way you looked, _

_ I learned how to dance, but I'd never shown it to you, _

_ My love, _

_ I know I was wrong, but you know that you'll always be, _

_ my love, _

_ stay for a while, while our leaves are still green. _

_ Please, _

_ for me. _

_ I know I try, but it's hard sometimes, _

_ the roots don't take, it takes a while, _

_ and you pull at the strings, but they're broken, it seems, _

_ and the dance isn't over for me. _

_ No, my love. _

_ I know I was wrong, but you know that you'll always be_

_ My love. _

_ Stay for a while, while our leaves are still green. _

_ Please, _

_ for me."_

She stopped there, humming the melody so he could guess at the tone of the song. Boromir hummed this tune as well, trying to remember the words. It was a simple song, and sounded foreign to him, but it was good, too,

"That is very interesting. I've never heard a song such as that one, Aria. Is most music in your world like this?"

Aria smiled and laughed, "We have a great deal of music in my world. Unfortunately, a lot of it sounds the same. We have people who try and dictate to others what kind of music is good. Then, there are some who wish to stay independent of this scheme, so you get a great deal of variety in music. Much of it isn't as soft as that, either."

* * *

In Dol Baran, they set off straight away to a travel clothes shop. Aria was extremely conscious of her appearance in this town. Up until now, Aria had been relatively unbashed in her mis-matched sundress and men's breeches. However, it was clear, that in this small town, this was not how women typically dressed. She would dance from happiness when she got new shoes, at any rate.

She assumed that Boromir would be paying for these items, as she had no form of currency on her whatsoever. She must remember to think of a way to repay Boromir for this later. Maybe she would keep watch one night for him, or cook him some rudimentary meal over the fire.

She walked with her head held high as the women of Dol Baran eyed her curiously and with disdain. The men, however, delighted at the sight of her bare arms and the open neck and chest of her dress. When she turned her back on them, they caught a glimpse of the clear expanse of her back, and their wives were forced to hit them over the head with broom and other cleaning supplies.

Boromir laughed at her haughtiness, remarking on how noble she looked at that moment, strolling proudly through the streets of this good-for-nothing little town as if she had not a care in the world.

There was little else to say about Aria's appearance, other than the fact that both her and Boromir had gone a significant period of time without a bath.

Inside the store, they were greeted with disdain by a older looking woman,

"Runaways, I suppose? Well I'm not about to turn down business, what is it you need? Clothes, I presume?"

Aria was about to open her mouth to deny the woman's assumption that her and Boromir were running away together, but Boromir placed a hand on her arm, quickly,

"Yes, my betrothed lost all but her night dress when our horse ran away. I have given her my extra set of breeches, but, as you can see," he glanced down at her legs, "they are hardly suitable for a lady."

The woman tisked quietly, looking Aria up and down, "I don't have anything for a woman quite as tall as her, but my daughter is only an inch or two shorter than her. I think her things will do, though it will cost you more."

Aria was angry. This woman probably had plenty of things for a woman her height! She was only being impertinent because she thought that they had run away together! Instead, she kept silent as Boromir and the woman discussed payment. At one moment, Aria saw the woman's eyes widen slightly when she saw Boromir take out a small, but heavy pouch of coins.

"If it pleases you, my lord and lady, I can show you some of my newer wares in the back room..."

_Oh, that hag!_ Aria thought to herself. _Now that she's seem how rich Boromir is, she miraculously finds something more suitable for me to wear. _

The woman led them to a small room, where she clearly kept her most prized pieces. There were lovely gowns, and practical travel wear, all in the small room. Aria tried on several pairs of breeches, and settled on two pairs of soft doe-skin ones. She also chose two linen tunics, and a small waistcoat that was both practical and warm. She was about to inquire about a cloak, when Boromir reminded her that she still had his, and he was perfectly willing to let her keep it. Aria thanked him with a smile, and inquired about footwear instead. The woman didn't sell any herself, but directed them to the leatherworker's while she adjusted the clothing to Aria's size.

The leatherworker didn't have anything just Aria's size, but he did have some women's boots that would do in the meantime, before she got to Rivendell. When they were done, Boromir paid for everything with a smile, and they headed towards the only inn in the town.

"Hello there, are you two looking for accomodation?" a pot-bellied older man asked cheerily from behind the bar. Boromir nodded,

"One room with two beds, preferably."

The barman smiled knowingly, "Very well. I'm sure my wife will find you something suitable. Would you be needing a bath and food, my lord?"

Aria glanced down to her dirt stained...well, everything was dirt stained, "I daresay we do need baths, don't you?"

The man laughed, and gave them each a mug of ale, though Aria asked for wine. They sat there in silence for a few moments. Aria opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Boromir was paying for everything. It wasn't as if she expected him not to, but it was a kind gesture, nonetheless.

"Thank you, Boromir."

He looked over to her, a smiled. He laid his hand on hers, briefly,

"It is nothing, Aria. You have been through much, this much is clear. I would not have you suffer more when I could have prevented it. Sleep well tonight, and eat well, too. Tomorrow we must be off again." with that, he went over to the innkeeper's wife and inquired about their room. She would have bath water brought up for them quickly, and their meal would be served to them in their room as well.

* * *

Aria sat quietly near the bar, sipping the ale. It was sweeter than beer back home, and tasted homemade. She thought of home then, and although she was confused by her being in Middle-Earth, and although it was quite trying, she couldn't say that it was unenjoyable. Boromir was a lovely travelling companion, and so diligent.

Aria saw Boromir go upstairs quietly, and thought to follow after him. _Oh, he's probably taking a bath now. _She thought of Boromir in the bath then, and giggled. _Of all the things to think of when you first get to Middle-Earth, Aria, it just has to be naked Gondorian lords, doesn't it. Good to know that your hormones aren't failing you. _

She finished her ale then, and traipsed up to their room anyhow. It had been over a half hour, and she figured he should be done with his bath by now. When she got up to their room, she noticed that he had lit all the candles. She poked her head in with her eyes closed, and knocked lightly on the door frame,

"Boromir? Are you...decent?"

She heard a deep chuckle from somewhere nearby. She opened her eyes a crack, cautiously. About three inches from her face, was Boromir's laughing one.

"Quite decent, I assure you. I was simply reading." he waved the tiny volume she had frequently seen him reading at her by way of explanation.

"Ah, what is it you're reading there?" she asked, curiously. Back home, she loved to read. Her father always told her that if she didn't stop reading, she would lose sight of the real world. This world was much better, in her opinion. He handed her the little book, "The Fall of Gil-Galad. An interesting choice, though I prefer the Lay of Leithian, myself."

"So you are a romantic, then!" he smirked at her. She walked into the room, closing the door behind her. She sat on one of the small wooden chairs by the fire. Their food had been laid out for them. It was a meager meal of stew and potatoes, but it smelled heavenly to Aria,

"A hopeless one, I'll admit." she replied as she sat down to eat. She motioned for Boromir to sit across from her, and he did so, silently. They ate in silence for a moment, when Boromir spoke at last,

"You know, it has been a long time since I've eaten in the company of another. I had forgotten how comforting it can be to eat in mutual silence."

She chewed her food carefully, enjoying the taste of something other than dry bread, "You know, this is the first time I have tasted food other than dry bread in months. I was fed from a tube in my throat before coming here."

Boromir felt queasy and sympathetic at the same time, "Then let me know if you would like for me to call for desert. I hear the innkeeper's wife makes an excellent pie."

Aria, sensing Boromir's discomfort, was tempted to elaborate for her own amusement, but finished her meal in silence instead. When she was done, she got up, stretching, "Would you like to wash first, Boromir?"

He looked up from the book he was reading while he ate, "Are you insinuating that I need a bath, Aria?"

She looked down to the dirt encrusted hands that he ate with, "Unless the dirt on your hands is adding flavour to your stew, I suggest you bathe."

Boromir smiled ruefully, "Very well. But I must insist that you go first."

"Are you saying I smell worse than you?"

Boromir looked shocked and apalled at her insinuation, then realized, by way of the smile on her face, that she was jesting, "Yes. Now, off with you."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N: Hi, so...I'm in the market for a reliable beta. I plan on making this my main story, like I said, and I hope to be able to update regularly. This story SHOULD follow Aria through the War of the Ring, and even into the Fourth Age, so I think it should be around for a while. Someone with visibly good grammar, please lol.

Also, where are the reviews? :( Come on people! Just kidding. Sort of. I'll throw Boromir's panties at whoever reviews first. Don't like that? Kay. Uhm...his horn. Geddit? Horn? Haha.

Moving on...

* * *

The bath was exquisite. Actually, it was a rather rudimentary item, and the soap was harsh and scratched at her skin, but still, the water was warm and soothed her exhausted muscles. The bar of soap smelled like oats and grains. The lye made her skin itch, but she continued on. She tried to use it on her hair, then she realized that beside the sheet of linen she would use to dry off, there was a small phial of a thick, clear liquid. It appeared to be melted soap mixed with a bit of warm ale. Aria laughed, it was an interesting form of shampoo. She used but half, so that Boromir could have some as well.

She sat in the water for a few moments, before getting out so that the water may be changed. Beside the tub lay two large buckets, one to put the dirty water in, and another filled with warm, clean water. Before getting dressed and wetting her clothes, she changed the water in the small tub.

She changed into the simple threadbare dress and shift that Boromir had bought for her in the shop, and tried her best wring out her long hair on the linen towel. She stood in front of the old looking mirror, and attempted to fashion her hair into some kind of bun, but without elastics, she failed miserably.

Instead, she left it down, and after clearing her things, walked back into the sitting room. Boromir was sitting on the same chair she had left him in, but now he was napping quietly, resting his head on his elbow. Giggling a little, she tiptoed over to him, and patted him gently on the shoulder. He snapped to attention immediately, scanning the room for potential foes. Aria was a little taken aback by this reaction,

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I changed the water for you, so you can have your bath now, if you'd like."

Boromir yawned, but nodded appreciatively, "No, it is I that is sorry. I often forget my surroundings when I sleep. Thank you, Aria. I'll be out again shortly, I'm afraid the soap in these inns does not sit well with me."

Aria laughed at the thought of a mighty warrior such as Boromir complaining about his hygienic products, and thought back to the vain boys back home who whined about the stiffness of their hair gel, or the wrong flavour of mint in their toothpaste. How could _anyone_ brush with _Wintermint_? It is simply unheard of!

While Boromir bathed, Aria searched for something to do. Feeling her muscles to be so tense, she settled on stretching for a bit on the floor, something her body was accustomed to her doing every day, something she had not done for many days since her arrival in Middle-Earth. She wondered at the look that Boromir would have on his face, if he were to walk in to her sitting of the floor with one leg in the air, and the other reaching behind her back!

After a while, though her muscles greatly appreciated the relief, she wanted dearly to lay down in a real bed. She sat at the table and twiddled her thumsb absent-mindedly. Finally, Boromir emerged from the bedroom, smelling fresh, and clean shaven, a look she hadn't really expect from him.

He easily looked years younger. She knew that he was significantly older than she was, but that like Aragorn, he possesed Numenorean blood, though considerably less. He could have looked no older than thirty of thirty-five, though she knew him to be older. His raven hair hung loosley around his face, and with the grime cleaned from his features, his bright grey eyes shone in the candlelight. He was wearing a simple, clean, linen tunic and soft breeches.

"I must admit, I am not fond of bathing in inns, but this was nothing short of wonderful." he remarked, walking over to the seat in front of her. She made a noise of agreement, and stared into the fireplace. It was then that Boromir noticed, again, the pendant at her neck, "You are not Gondorian, yet you wear the White Tree around your neck. Why is that?"

Aria looked puzzled for a moment, then her hands flew to her collar where the pendant hung loosely. Taking it off quickly, she held it in her hands in the light, "It was left to me by an old woman in my world. I didn't make the connection between the tree and the White Tree until you mentioned it just now. Maybe it had something to do with how I got here!"

Boromir was puzzled as well, "Truly, I cannot guess at its meaning. The Valar have many reasons for their actions, and it does not seem impossible that you were indeed _meant_ to be here, Aria."

Aria pondered this for a moment. She twirled the pendant between her fingers, prodding the branches of the White Tree absent-mindedly. She looked at it carfully in the light, eyeing its curves and the stars above it.

"Tell me, Boromir, what does the White Tree look like?"

Boromir smiled nostalgically, looking into the fire. He seemed pensive for a moment, and Aria wondered if she ought not to have asked him. After a minute, he looked back at her,

"It is withered, and yet majestic. Its beauty is in its resilience, and it is a symbol of hope to my people. It is the hope that we may still have a king yet."

"That sounds lovely, Boromir. I hope I can see it one day."

Boromir's face darkened for a moment, and she could clearly see that, for him, the end to this awful war was not in sight. She knew it would take many casualties for both Gondor and the rest of Middle-Earth, and the more time she spent with Boromir, the more she was reminded of this fact. He looked at her, his eyes big and grey in the firelight, and smiled hopefully,

"Perhaps you shall, yet. I hope you are able to see the White City when the time is right."

Aria smiled and laid a hand on his, on the table, "I am sure that I will see it, Boromir. I hope that you will be there to see it with me, restored to its full glory."

Boromir looked hopeful for a moment, and laid his other hand on top of her own. He said nothing, but Aria knew that she had just given him the hope to pull him through the coming times. He looked her in the eyes then, saying nothing. His hands still held her's lightly on the table in front of them. Her eyes looked feral in the firelight, shining their normal green, but also golden. Her long damp hair hung limply on her shoulders, drawing his eyes there. His breath hitched in his throat, and Aria opened her mouth the tiniest bit. He looked away, suddenly. Taking the back of her hand, he brought it to his lips, silently, and kissed it. The simple, but uncommon gesture in her world, sent shivers throughout her body.

"Goodnight, Aria."

"Sleep well, Boromir."

* * *

The next morning, Aria woke to the sound of steam engines roaring past her. Or, at least, that's what it sounded like. Boromir was a snorer, evidentally. She looked to the small window across from her little bed, and saw that it was barely light out. She couldn't have slept for a very long time. Decided that a little more rest could do them both some good, she turned over and squashed the pillow to her ear, hoping to block out Boromir's torrential snores.

It was no use.

With a sigh, Aria got up. She walked quietly over to Boromir's bed, trying to decided whether it would be better to wake him up, or just try to turn him over. Remembering Boromir's keen reflexes from the night before, she thought it best just to wake him up normally, by figeting around the room and making inconspicuous noises. As she moved past his bed, she noticed that he wore a very light tunic to sleep. It was open at the top, showing the perfect amount of hair on his chest. The sleeves had been pushed up in his sleep, making his strong arms clearly visible to her.

Aria smiled a little, then moved past. She began to pull out the tangles from her hair with the wooden comb the innkeeper's wife had left for her. She had slept on damp hair, and so her hair was heavily knotted. How she missed hair conditioner!

After getting all the tangles out of her hair, she realized that she couldn't possibly get dressed while he still slept in the room, and so she decided the trudge around, making as much noise as possible, but not enough for him to blame her for waking him up.

She chose her clothing carefully today, as she knew they would be travelling from now on, only stopping in town for provisions and a decent night's rest. She knew it would be a while before they reached the next town with an inn. She chose soft leather breeches, and simpl blue tunic. She grabbed the travelling coat to throw on on top of this, and began to search for her new boots.

The next thing she knew, her face had become closely acquainted with the splintery wooden floorboards. Groaning, and started to pull herself up.

"Aria! Are you alright? Are you hurt? How did you fall?"

Well, at least Boromir was awake now. She picked herself up, with Boromir's helping hand. She dusted off her nightdress, and looked down at the floor. There, lay one of Boromir's heavy boots, right in the middle of the room. She picked up the offending item, and thrust it into his chest, laughing.

Boromir smiled sheepishly. He was still holding her by the arm, close to his body. She could smell the same 'shampoo' that she had used the night before. She looked up at him,

"I didn't want to wake you," she lied, "but we must be going soon, I think."

He looked out the window, "No, I do not think so. I couldn't possibly be later than five thirty in the morning." he replied, "However, I am up."

Aria looked at him apologetically. He let her go now, and looked around in search of some more appropriate clothes. Spotting his clean shirt, he threw it on on top of his under-tunic. Tucking it in quickly, he motioned towards the door,

"Shall we go off in search of breakfast?"

She looked down at her own clothes. She was still wearing the thick nightdress that she slept in. Clearly, Boromir was not accustomed to seeing women that he wasn't...consorting with...in this kind of outfit. He blushed madly,

"I will...I will wait for you in the sitting room. I am sorry."

With that, he exited the room quickly, leaving Aria quite amused. This dress would be considered overly modest in her time, and quite ridiculous. She often forgot how different Boromir's life was from hers.

She dressed quickly, not wanting to keep Boromir waiting. She decided not to wear the coat yet, and was satisfied with her appearance. It was like a constant costume party here! She loved wearing the clothes that she would have undoubtedly been laughed at for wearing back home. The quality was so much better than any costume back home.

Boromir was waiting for her at the door, just as he said he would be. She smiled at him, using a leather string to tie her hair up. His hand reached out to stop hers,

"Leave it down. We do not have to leave for another hour or so."

Confused but not daunted, she left her hair down, and followed him down to the common room of the inn. They walked over to a small two-person table, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves by welcoming other guests. Boromir sighed, she was not the most inconspicuous of travel companions; a woman in men's travelling clothes was not a common sight anywhere in Middle-Earth.

They were given beans, toast and some manner of fried meat to eat. This was followed by tea and freshly made warm apple cider. Aria enjoyed the latter considerably. It was an autumn favourite of hers. She sipped it quietly, looking around at the inn. It was moments like these that it truly occured to her that she was, in fact, in Middle-Earth.

She watched Boromir sop up some of the beans with a slice of toast. Smiling, she realized that she had done the same. No matter where you were from, you could always count on the fact that people would always eat in similar fashions, despite their many differences.

Paying their final tab, they set off back upstairs to pack the rest of their things and set off for the day. Before leaving, Boromir asked Aria to wait inside the inn while he attended to some business outside. It seemed like forever before he finally returned, but he did, with a smile on his face,

"Come! I have something to show you."

She followed him outside, to the outskirts of the inn, near the stables. Outside the stable door was a pretty brown mare, saddle and all. Aria smiled happily, jumping a little in place,

"Oh, did you buy her?"

"Yes, I figured that we ought not walk all the way to Rivendell, else we are late for our business there. Her name is Faesten, the stable master says. Her name means strength."

Aria patted the mare's nose affectionaly, petting its soft, sleek coat, "Boromir, can you help me up? Will you be riding in front or in back?"

He thought about it for a moment, "Back, I should think. You are shorter than I, and there are lovely views where we are going." quietly, he added, "And I'm sure you would like nothing more than the see the sights of Middle-Earth, as you are still a newcomer to our beautiful land."

He helped her up onto the horse, and pulled himself up behind her. Grabbing the reigns and slipping one arm around her waist, they set off at last.

* * *

That night, as Aria rolled out her bed roll, Boromir noticed that she still hadn't put her hair up.

* * *

The days were long a grueling, but finally, they seemed to actually be approaching their goal. They had been travelling for nearly two weeks now, stopping only to replenish their food stores and for the occasional bath and good night's sleep.

Boromir told Aria that they were taking the Old South Road, the Greenway, approaching Tharbad, and the Greyflood River. From there, they would follow the Greyflood, then the Loudwater, until they finally reached Rivendell. Naturally, things did not go as planned,

"By Eru, the blasted horse has gone and run off!" Boromir shouted angrily, staring at the sight of Faesten running off in the distance. He just couldn't seem to keep a horse that wasn't his own favourite. They were at the bridge at Tharbad now, and had to do nothing but cross it and follow the river to Rivendell. However, without the horse, Rivendell seemed much farther away than it did before.

Aria sighed, and didn't bother trying to calm Boromir down. She had grown fond of him in their time travelling, but was just as annoyed as him in this situation. Faesten had seemed sweet at first, until both her and Boromir realised why the stable master had sold her to them for so cheap. She had quite the spirit, and had not been broken. For a while, it seemed as if Boromir's experience with horse would be able to tame her, but clearly none but a Rohirrim would have been able to keep Faesten obedient.

She had run off just after they had unpacked her for a quick lunch break, leaving them with all of their baggage, and nothing to carry it but themselves.

They made their way close to the bridge then, judging the best way to cross it. It seemed rather un down in parts, but relatively stable in others. Boromir, being as gallant and gentlemanly as he was, generously offered to test it first.

This proved to be quite beneficial to Aria, as she was able to find out that the bridge was broken and not suitable to walk on, without actually testing this out on her own.

Boromir, however, was not so lucky. He fell through the bridge, and into the deep rushing waters below. Aria, being much lighter than him, ran swiftly across the bridge, and downriver a bit, until Boromir was in reach,

"Quick! Take my hand!"

Boromir sputtered, trying to stay put in the river's rushing waters, "No, I cannot! The current is too strong, it will pull you in, too!"

After what seemed like hours of struggle, but could not have been more than a few moments, Boromir latched himself onto a rock, and propelled himself forward towards the shore with all his strength. One hand grasped at the shoreline, the other was quickly caught in Aria's hand, and she pulled him up as hard as she could.

Lying on the bank of the river, Boromir breathed heavily. His clothes were soaked, as was he, and it began to grow cold out. The sun hid behind some clouds, and the winds seemed to have picked up. Boromir began to shiver after a while, but Aria could not find him a change of clothes. Faesten had run off with some of their bags, albeit not the vital ones.

* * *

Boromir's condition quickly grew worse. Aria struggled to think of what to do. Under normal circumstances she would have taken him to a clinic! This sounded foolish to her now, as she racked her brain for something that would help him.

She felt his forehead, it was warm though his body was shaking with cold. She pulled of the cloak that he had lent her all those days ago, and laid it back on top of him,

"I hope it keeps you as warm as it did me, then."

* * *

They barely travelled for days, with Boromir stopping every hour or so for rest. Aria took charge of keeping track of their location along the river. Keeping in mind her knowledge of colds and flus from modern times, she gave Boromir plenty of fluids and dried fruit to replenish his body's stock of vitamins.

As the days passed, Boromir's fever got worse, and Aria feared that it would never go down. He slept nearly all day now, and Aria struggled to find ways to keep him moving. Finally, she felt she had no choice.

His fever must go down.

She looked to the gentlest part of the river, and began to take off Boromir's heavy clothes. They were dry now, but his body was warm and felt like fire on her hands. She stripped him to nothing but his under clothes and light tunic, before leading him to the river. He looked at her bizarrely,

"Why...river...no..."

"Come, Boromir. You have to get in the water. You need to cool off. Please...come on." she lead him closer to the river bank, but he resisted. Sighing, she tried to push him in. He would not budge. She moved to the other side of him, and began to pull. The mud underneath their feet made it more difficult for him to stay put. Victory at last!

She almost had him in the water when he stopped, and would not budge again. She would get in there with him, if she had to!

She left him by the riverside, and pulled her own clothes off quickly. She changed into her shift, and went back over to Boromir, who, in his state, hadn't moved. Pulling on his arm again, she shivered deeply when her feet touched the cold water. It was not freezing, but it was certainly not the time of year to be swimming outside.

Pulling him in to his waist, she tried to submerge him completely in the water. In his feverish stupor, he accidentally pulled her down with him. She fell into the water with a splash, but thankfully, so did the great oaf of a man in front of her. He came back up, sputtering and shivering, but looking more alive than he had before,

"You daft woman, what are you doing to me?" he exclaimed, teeth chattering. Aria lifted herself up to full height,

"I'm lowering your fever, you stubborn oaf! You've been ill for nearly a week, and if we don't get you better soon, we won't ever make it to Rivendell!"

She crossed her arms over her chest, noticing that she was a little...cold. Boromir noticed this, coupled with her only being clad in the thin shift, and looked away. He scratched his head awkwardly for a moment, before shiftily turning back to her,

"How long must I stay in here?" he asked with a sigh, giving in to her brutal treatment.

"Until you feel as if your bones are about to freeze and break apart." she replied scathingly. She was quite annoyed with him. She hadn't planned on getting this wet! Feeling his skin gingerly, she tested his temperature. Not satisfied, she told him to stay there while she got out and dried off. _She_ had no need to stay in the river.

She laid her dry clothes out in front of her, and lit a small fire near them. Gathering Boromir's clothes with hers, she placed them near the fire to get warm. Feeling them occasionally, they reminded her of freshly dried clothes straight out of the dryer. There were many modern comforts that she missed. In this case, what she wouldn't give to have Boromir take an Advil Cold and Sinus and be done with it.

Boromir yelled from the river, "Why is that you get to leave me here while you sit comfortably by the fire?"

Aria looked back at him with a laugh, "Because I wasn't the one who threw myself through a bridge then caught cold!"

Boromir glared jokingly, but sat quietly in the water after that. Occasionally he would ask when he could come out, but Aria would make him stay longer, to be sure that he was sufficiently cold. When their clothes felt warm enough, she called him out of the water.

Aria blushed profusely as Boromir settled in front of the fire with nothing but his underthings and a shirt on. Boromir, completely unabashed, began to stretch out, to dry out more efficiently. He glanced at her on occasion, and smirked at seeing her cheeks colour every time she looked at him. Blushing suited her, he thought.

When he was dry, he put his clothes back on, with Aria's help. She laid out the bed roll for him, and decided that she would sleep on the cloak for tonight. Boromir, touched by this, kissed her hand in thanks,

"Surely, without your gentle hands, I would be feverish and delirious by now. Thank you, Aria. I am indebtted to you."

"It was nothing." she replied quietly, before laying her head on her arms. Boromir slept fitfully that night, dreaming of orcs and Aria, before passing into a deep, fever-induced slumber.

* * *

The next morning, Aria was pleased to see that Boromir's fever had finally broken. Boromir, also in better spirits, prepared them breakfast. Roasted apple slices and gruel, delicious!

Still, their spirits were high as they trudged on towards Rivendell. Boromir, less feverish, though still quite ill, traveled slowly. It took them longer than they had originally planned, and ages longer compared to what Boromir had originally planned, but sooner or later, they came across the valley in which Rivendell dwelt.

"The air seems lighter here, do not you think, Aria?"

Aria smiled up at him, "Yes, it does. Now come on, the quicker we get there, the more time we have to actually explore it." a mischievious glint caught in her eye and she looked at him challengingly, "I will race you. First one there gets a prize!"

And with that, she broke into a sprint up the road towards the Last Homely House. Boromir, surprised, but not unwilling to play, set off as quickly as he could after her. They were neck in neck for a while when finally, just as they reached the gates, Boromir shot ahead.

Holding himself triumphantly, he struggled to catch his breath. Aria, too, was quite out of breath. Finally, when they both caught their breath, he turned to her,

"So, what is this prize you spoke of?"

Thinking for a moment, she replied, "Anything you'd like I guess. I don't have any money to offer you, so perhaps something else."

"Hmm...I do not know." he replied, fibbing slightly. With a cheeky grin, he placed his hand on the small of her back, "I think I shall claim it later."

Puzzled, Aria frowned. Boromir ignored her confusion, and set off towards the gates of Rivendell, "Come on, we did not come this far to stand outside it!"

* * *

A/N: Thank to everyone who reviewed the last chapter :) Keep up the good work, men!


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to the people who reviewed :) You're the best ever! I'll cut to the chase, onward!

* * *

Rivendell was beautiful to say the least. Aria, like most people, had seen the Lord of the Rings movies, but their lovely Rivendell paled in comparison to the real thing. The Last Homely House was homely indeed, but frightening at the same time. She felt as if she couldn't touch anything, and she sensed that Boromir, walking beside her, felt the same way. She glanced at him quickly, and saw that he was quite enraptured with the home of the Elves.

Their guard brought them straight to Lord Elrond's study, where they would have a brief audience with him, then retire to their rooms. Aria suspect that this audience would be somewhat less than brief once Elrond found out who she was. Seeing no sense in hiding the nature of her being in Middle-Earth from the elf-lord, she held her head high.

Boromir looked over at her just then, and smiled, noticing how noble she looked then. If he hadn't known better, he would have mistaken her for some noblewoman of Northern Gondor. Her dancer's body carried her gracefully, and every step, even the ones that faltered, seemed purposeful. She leveled her eyes with his, and smiled lightly before allowing the guard to knock politely on Elrond's door.

"Yes?", the lord responded in Elvish. Aria didn't know this, of course, but could only assume that that's what it meant. Boromir, having heard Elvish his entire life from his tutors in Minas Tirith, understood and spoke Elivsh fluently, as many men in his sort of position did.

"Lord Boromir, son of Denethor and...Lady Aria, are here to see you, my Lord Elrond." the guard responded in Westron, clearly for their benefit.

"Send them in, Taurnil."

The guard nodded at them, and opened the door. Boromir gave Aria a comforting look, and patted the hand that lay at the crook of his arm. Letting go of her, he walked in first, according to rank. He bowed to Lord Elrond, and began to introduce himself,

"Ah, Boromir, I see you have finally arrived.", Elrond interrupted. Boromir smiled sheepishly,

"Well, you see there were a few accidents, my lord."

"I can see that, there is a woman standing behind you, Lord Boromir. And who might you be?"

Aria felt her cheeks begin to colour underneath Elrond's gaze. My, he certainly was as noble as one might expect. He looked old and young at the same time. Only his eyes betrayed his age and wisdom. This made Aria wonder how old all the other Elves they had seen were. Aria attempted an extremely nervous and flawled curtsy, before looking back up at him,

"I am Aria, my lord."

"I am aware of this. I suppose a better question would have been 'where do you hail from?', Lady Aria."

His replies, though to the point, were betrayed by the amused twinkle in his eye. Aria got the sneaking suspicion that Elrond knew she was coming, and knew exactly where she came from, and only wanted to make her miserable by explaining it again. But, she knew she must, and so she did.

"...and then I woke to Boromir's first horse running wildly past me. We stopped in Dol Baran, where he bought me clothes so that I wouldn't look so bizarre in Middle-Earth, wearing what he first thought was a nightdress.", Boromir blushed at the mention of this comment of his, "We acquired a new horse then, which we promptly lost later when Boromir fell through the bridge at Tharbad. He fell ill then, and somehow we managed, at great length, to get here."

Elrond contemplated this for a moment, furrowing his noble brow. He walked slowly back to his desk, and motioned for them to sit down. They did so gratefully, thankful for the opportunity to sit on something that wasn't a rock or a saddle. He poured himself a glass of wine, and offered them some as well. They both accepted gratiously, and sipped it quietly while waiting for Elrond to respond to their tale.

"This is all very interesting. May I see this necklace of yours, Aria?"

Aria nodded and reached behind her neck to take the necklace off. It was caught in her long hair, and she tugged at it a few times before sighing. Boromir set his glass of wine on Elrond's table, and reached to the back of her neck. Aria was surprised to feel his touch there, but accepted his help anyways. He got the necklace free, and handed it to her to hand to Elrond. He held the pendant in his hand, and up to the light. Furrowing his brow for what seemed like the hundredth time in that hour, he sighed,

"I cannot sense anything remarkable about it. It seems to be a normal trinket, to me. I cannot see why the Valar chose to bring you here, but I can only assume it was for good reason. Your knowledge of the future in these times may yet prove to be useful. I suggest you follow Lord Boromir to the Council tomorrow. Maybe it will be of help to you, or maybe you may be of some help to us."

Aria and Boromir took their leave of Elrond then, and were immediately accosted outside by two handmaidens. One whisked Boromir off for a bath and a change of clothes, the other introduced herself to Aria,

"Mae govannen, I am Ethiriel." she was as lovely as all the other elves, with her long dark hair and striking features. She was a bit taller than Aria, and moved so gracefully that Aria thought her feet must not even be touching the ground.

"I'm Aria, it's nice to meet you."

The elleth smiled at her, and took her by the arm, "Come, we must get you cleaned up. There is a feast tonight, in honour of all of our guests here in Imladris. I was told that you have not but your travel clothes, so I took the liberty of laying out some options for you."

Bemused, Aria followed Ethiriel into what she assumed must have been her rooms. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Boromir being dragged by the elbow into the room down the ways from hers. She giggled a bit.

Inside, there lay four dresses on the bed. She didn't have time to even look at them before she was whisked into another room, and forced into the bath. She was given soaps and oils and perfumes and told to "make herself presentable. We don't want Lord Boromir to think that his travelling companion _always_ looks as if she's rolled around in mud and leaves."

Aria blushed profusely, stammering some kind of denial, when Ethiriel gave her a knowing wink before sauntering out of the room (with impeccable elven grace, of course). She lay quietly in the bath, humming a tune she could barely remember, and indulged in the fine perfumes and oils. Feeling truly clean and hygienic for the first time in nearly a month, she smiled at her happy face in the mirror. Her hair felt soft and supple in her hands as she combed it with the fine silver comb left to her by Ethiriel.

She heard a soft knock on the door, and in came Ethiriel again, this time, holding various pots and tubes and brushes. Middle-Earth makeup? Aria was excited. She reached to touch one of the smaller little boxes of what seemed to be a pink powder, but Ethiriel stopped her,

"Not until you've put on your gown!"

In the bedroom, the four gowns were still laying on the bed. The first was a very light rosy pink, which Aria did not think would suit her at all. The second was a midnight blue and made of a very fine silk. It had silver details on it that Ethiriel thought would looke quite pretty on Aria. Aria eyed the third one curiously, it was a buttercream colour that looked delicious, but she thought might wash her out. The last was a deep, emerald green, but was unfortunately made for an elleth, and so it was much too long for her. They settled on the blue dress, and Ethiriel began on Aria's hair, choosing to leave it loose and wavy, with only a few small braids twisted together at the back. Ethiriel put the tiniest little white flowers in her hair, woven into the braids.

After experimenting with the very primitive makeup, Aria decided on a touch of rouge and some light, irridescent eyeshadow made from crushed pearls. All-round, the look was very pretty, and for the first time since her coming to Middle-Earth, she felt she was finally showing her true potential. She smiled at herself in the small mirror, and turned to face Ethiriel.

"Thank you, it's all so lovely!" she clasped the elleth hands in hers and squeezed them in thanks. The elleth informed her that the feast would begin in an hour, and so she had some time to relax before then,

"But do not fall asleep, lest you ruin your hair or crease your dress!" Ethiriel warned, before stepping out of the room, making barely any sound at all. Aria decided to read one of the books that were left in her room. Most of them were in elvish, though she managed to find a couple in Westron, the language that she apparently spoke in Middle-Earth. She thought it very curious that English would be the equivalent of Westron here, but did not think much of it. For all she knew, she was speaking Westron, and not English at all. The thought was a little disconcerting, but realizing that there was not much that she could do about it, she let it go.

The book detailed the history of the building of Imladris, and though it was interesting enough, Aria felt weary from the journey, and felt herself slipping into a doze. She quickly snapped herself out of it, and decided to try and find a more efficient way of staying awake.

Her thoughts drifted to the day of her accident, and then to dancing. Her mind wandered a long these lines before she decided that she desperately felt like dancing. She practiced a few simple moves in front of the mirror in the sitting room, before she felt her muscles regain the knowledge and memory of the movements.

Dancing simply but with whole heart, she barely noticed when she heard the soft knock on the door. She snapped out of her dancing reverie, and opened it to see Boromir standing there.

He cleared his throat nervously, and looked her in the eyes, "I thought you might want an escort to this dinner, as I fear that you do not know anyone."

Aria resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _What a typical man_, she thought. Yet, she smiled at him and accepted. He looked quite handsome tonight, all cleaned up. Still, she thought, he looked better in the loose shirt and breeches at the inn in Dol Baran. However, there was something to be said about a Gondorian captain in full regalia. It was quite an impressive sight to behold, and she had to admit that he looked like quite the nobleman that she knew he was.

As Aria appreciated her companion in full, Boromir did the same. She was simply stunning in her gown. Boromir was beginning to think her quite average looking after his travels with her. This was to be expected when you only see someone covered in leaves and mud. Tonight, however, she was beautiful, and Boromir told her this in earnest,

"You look beautiful, Aria." he said simply, placing a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. She coloured appreciatively and thanked him, "I had almost forgotten that I traveled with a beautiful woman, after seeing you in travel cloths so often. I feel quite the fool to have ever forgotten your beauty, forgive me."

_These Gondorians sure know how to woo a woman,_ she thought to herself, smiling in thanks. She commented on his fancy outfit as well, and after all the pleasantries had been exchanged, they set off towards the dining hall where the rest of the guests would have congregated.

The dining hall was decorated beautifully, but simply, as the elves were never ones to over-do anything. The smell of roasted venison and fresh fruits filled Aria's senses, and the sound of soft music met her ears. Walking into the room, she lost her breath as she realized that she would be meeting many of the other characters from the Lord of the Rings. She was more excited than afraid, though, especially when it came to encountering the hobbits.

They walked slowly over to an elf who was announcing the presence of all new guests, and she vaguely heard Boromir whisper their names to the elf.

"Lord Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, and Lady Aria of Longwall."

As her name was announced, and clearly not recognized by any member of their party, many curious heads shot up. She felt dozens of pairs of eyes on her and they were escorted to their seats at the table, side by side. They were near the front of the table, which indicated their rank (hers, by proxy to Boromir), which placed even more eyes on her. Nervously, she sat down. Boromir laid a hand across hers, and held it gently for a moment in comfort,

"Do not worry. They are hardly as vicious as wild dogs, and much more apt to like you than you think."

Aria nearly snorted in laughter, "I'm not so sure, I think I see some women down the table glaring daggers at me."

Boromir peeked at them curiously, "It is no doubt because you are in the illustrious company of such a handsome and clever Gondorian lord, think you not?" Aria giggled, and patted Boromir on the hand.

"Whatever helps you to sleep at night, my lord." she replied mockingly, before glancing around for any hobbits. Boromir looked mock-hurt for a moment, before pointing out the presence of Frodo and Sam, or who she could only assume were the two. One had very fine features and dark hair, the other was quite portly and always kept a watchful eye around the table. Suddenly, she heard two very jovial voices from behind her,

"No, Merry. We have to wait til dessert. I don't think the elves know about dinner and supper. I think this is just dinner."

The other hobbit, Merry, looked shocked, and held his stomach painfully, "Oh, Pip, I think my stomach is eating itself."

Aria laughed heartily at this, and Boromir took in the sound of her honest laugh. She turned back to him, and began to explain the personalities of the hobbits, from what she knew of the books. Boromir was most amused by this, and admitted that he, too, wanted to meet them now. But there would be time for that later. From the corner of her eye, she saw Lord Elrond get up from his seat at the head of the table, not far from them.

"Friends, I bid you welcome to Imladris. To our guests, I trust that your stay as of yet has been comfortable. To our loyal friends in Rivendell, I hope you find the time to rejoice tonight. Times are dark in Middle-Earth, but let tonight be a fond memory, a light in the darkness."

With that, everyone began to eat, an act that was intiated by the hobbits. As Boromir served her some steamed vegetables, she looked across the table from her. The most handsome elf she had yet seen sat there, beside a dark haired, grey-eyed man. Legolas and Aragorn, she guessed, by the level of their acquaintance. Beside Aragorn, she could only assume was Arwen. The stunning elleth shone like a star in the room, and her silvery voice carried far down the table, where countless men were openly oggling her.

It was then that she noticed that Boromir and Aragorn were in fact, talking. Quite pleasantly at that, and Aria wondered if Boromir knew of Aragorn's true identity. She reminded herself that in the books, Boromir bore little to no ill-will towards Aragorn, and did not deny the return of the rightful king. Boromir and Aragorn spoke of the defense of Gondor, and the proud re-taking of Osgiliath which had occured shortly before Boromir's departure. Aragorn seemed pleased about this, and looked at Aria,

"Boromir, would you care to introduce me to your companion? I do not think we have yet met."

"Certainly. Lord Aragorn, this is Aria. I'm afraid that I can offer no connection to you, as she is still quite a mystery to us, and even herslef. Aria appeared in Middle-Earth from another world, and neither her, nor Lord Elrond can account for how."

Aragorn pondered this, and smiled at her, "It is nice to meet you, Lady Aria. The Valar have an odd way of playing with our fates, and I am certain that your being here has some purpose known only to them. But you are welcome here."

"Thank you, my lord." she responded politely. Somehow, it felt like the ranger saw right threw her, and he threw her an encouraging wink. Happily turning back to her food, she dug into the best meal she thought she ever had. Beside her, Boromir did the same, though she noticed that he never touched his mushrooms. He shoved them all to the side of the plate, and continued eating the rest. All of a sudden, he turned around abruptly,

"Excuse me, Lord Boromir. I've noticed that you haven't been eating your mushrooms. If you don't want them, I'd be happy to take them off your hands for you."

It was the hobbit, Merry, closely followed by Pippin, eyes glazed over at the sight of uneaten food. Boromir looked taken aback for a moment, before bursting into a jolly smile, "You certainly may, Master hobbit! I fear I do not have a taste for mushrooms, and I can see that they will be properly appreciated in your company."

"Oh, they will, my lord! They will!"

Boromir scraped the mushrooms on to Merry's plate, and watched as he and Pippin argued over who got more of them, before they proceeded to count them out individually, so that it was fair. Boromir looked over at Aria, "I see why you were so excited to meet them. Curious but kind and happy creatures, are hobbits."

Aria agreed heartily. She reached over to a salt shaker to her left, and her hand hit another. Looking up, she apologized quickly, but met one of handsomest faces she'd ever seen.

"Oh, I'm sorry." the elf replied, before offering her the salt shaker, "Let me allow you to use it first."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly..." she stammered, and the elf looked amused at her nervousness.

"I assure you, there is hardly any reason to be nervous around me. It's my brother you'll want to concern yourself with." the elf smiled at her, and motioned towards his brother, who looked every inch the same as him, across from him at the table. She realized now that this must be Elladan and Elrohir.

"You must be Elladan and Elrohir Peredhil!"

The twins look unsurprised that she knew who they were, and no doubt due to the fact that their father, Lord Elrond, had told them about her curious situation. The twin beside smiled and shook her hand,

"I am Elladan, and that is Elrohir."

"No, my lady, I'm afraid my brother is trying to play you false. I am Elladan, and he is Elrohir."

Aria watched in amusement as they argued over who was who, when she heard Arwen, who no doubt had heard this game for millenia, chimed in.

"Elrohir, would you so kind as to pass the wine up, please?"

"Yes, sister." both twins replied at once. Arwen looked unamused, and held her hand out to the twin who was, presumably, actually Elrohir, which was the twin across from Aria. Elrohir sighed, but handed her the decanter of wine anyhow. Arwen flashed Aria a brilliant smile, before pouring both her and Aragorn a glass of wine.

"Thwarted again, brother! We must try to look the more alike the next time."

"We've been trying to do that for two-thousand years, Elladan. I don't think it's going to work with her..."

Aria and the twins made pleasant conversation for a while then, and somewhere around dessert, Lord Elrond invited all those who were not so tired to partake in some entertainment in the Hall of Fire. Most people were happy to go, but Aria could see some of the older guests retire, and happily, she noticed that all the hobbits made their way to the Hall.

The Hall of Fire was nothing like Aria expected from the elves. It was dark, and dimly lit, and it smelled of spices and burning fires. Some elves sat around a table near the front, telling tales. Some men were gathered elsewhere around the barrels of ale, and were singing songs from Rohan, Gondor and all other reaches of Middle-Earth. Soft music was playing in the background, and she could see some elven couples dancing slowly nearby.

As the night drew on, the music got louder, and the guests rowdier, and Aria and Boromir had shared many drinks together. Between the two of them, they must have polished off a whole decanter of wine. They were joined by Aragron, Arwen and the twins at this point, and pleasant, but slightly slurred conversation was made. Elladan and Elrohir had made a bet that the first elf (of the two of them) to be granted a dance with Aria was to be given a dozen newly-fletched arrows the next day. They shook hands, and Aria rolled her eyes. They proceeded to try and romance the girl, and showered her with compliments,

"Fairer than Luthien you are!"

"Boromir tells me you were a dancer in your world. You must show me how exquisitely you dance!"

"The stars smiled at the hour of our meeting, Aria."

"Your hair smells of flowers, and your are twice as fair as one!"

"I grow tired of this game, Aria. Will you dance with me?"

"Just one! I dearly need new arrows!"

"Perhaps a dance with one who does not pester you quite as much?" a different voice asked from behind her. It was silky like that of the elves, but deeper. She turned around to see the handsome face of Legolas smiling down at her. Aria felt herself colour at his attention, but thought nothing of it.

"I don't know the steps, I'll embarass you!"

Legolas smiled encouragingly, "I assure you, I will lead. It will be fun, come."

He took her hand in his and led her onto the dance floor. Once again, Aria found herself to be the open prey of many jealous females, but tried to focus on the steps. It was difficult to keep up with the grace of an elf, but she found herself enjoying the dance immensly. They danced another together.

Back on the sidelines, Boromir watched this development with a...keen...interest. He sipped his wine and watched Aria and Legolas glide across the dance floor. She was as graceful as an elleth, surely. Her feet looked as if they barely touched the ground, and when Legolas lifted her from the waist into a lift, her legs fell into the perfect position, almost naturally. He had never seen her dance before.

He thought to ask her himself, but Legolas had beaten her to it. Beside him, the twins decided that neither of them would fletch arrows tomorrow, and they would lounge by the rivers instead. They laughed at this, and Arwen announced that she would join them. Vaguely, he heard the beautiful elf-maiden inquire as to whether or not he'd like to come too, but he barely heard her. His eyes followed Aria and Legolas again. He was not jealous of the elf for dancing with her, only enthralled by her movements. He wished that he was there with her.

Just when he had decided to ask her to dance next, she saw that Legolas had commanded her presence yet again, and he sulked back into his glass of wine. Aragorn snickered, if that could be imagined. Boromir was thrown out of his sulky mood by the presence of intoxicated hobbits, each asking if he would teach them to use a sword. He agreed on the condition that they be sober during their lesson, and Merry and Pippin hiccoughed their way back to the ale, and the dwarves.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Aria and Legolas returned to their company. Boromir handed Aria her glass again, and took a happy gulp of the stuff. He smiled down at her,

"Are you too exhausted to dance one more time?" he asked her softly. To Aria, the world around them seemed to have blurred into nothingness. There was a strange look in Boromir's eyes, but not an unpleasant one. It was a look of tenderness and hope, hope that she would say yes. She found herself nodding silently, and being led back onto the dance floor.

It was a slower song now, and Boromir held her gently as they swayed in time to the music. She felt light as a feather in his arms. They danced this way for nearly ten minutes, as if nothing else in the world mattered. Aria was confused by this turn of events, but not put off by it. Boromir had already completely succumbed to his feelings for Aria, and not one to go against his heart's own wishes, he had promised himself that if she would have him, he would be hers.

They chatted quietly, mostly about their journey and their new company (of which they were very glad to be a part of). The song ended, and they both sighed lightly, wishing that the moment was not over. He held her hands gently in his for a moment, and opened his mouth to speak. Aria's heart leapt up to her throat, and she found her mouth had gone dry.

Instead of being followed by another song of similar pace, they found themselves in the midst of what sounded like a Rohirric jig. Not one to pass up the opportunity of doing something she'd never done before, and saved from a conversation she wasn't sure if she was ready to have yet, Aria hitched up her skirts to her ankles, and began to copy the moves of some of the guests from Rohan and Gondor. Boromir was surprised by this, but laughed a long and danced the jigs as well. Having grown up with some of the rangers and soldiers of Gondor, they had similar dances outside of the confines of the court.

The dances then were lively and joyful, much unlike the times ahead of them. But, as all things do, the night dwindled down to an end, and most of the guests began to retire for the evening. Boromir offered Aria his arm, and she took it gladly, thankful for the extra support for her wobbly legs. The elves clearly had no idea how to make normal wine, and could only produce a stronger variety.

They walked in silence for a wine, mostly trying desperately not to fall over. At one point, Boromir lost his footing on an uneven bit of tile in the hallway, and Aria had to glue herself to the wall to keep from falling over with hysterical laughter. Boromir dropped his glass on the floor, and swore loudly as he bent to clean up as much of it as he could. Aria, still laughing, also bent to try and help him. Their eyes met then, filled with laughter.

"Just leave it, 'Mir. There's no use, someone will get it tomorrow."

"It is such disrespect to soil the house of Lord Elrond! I cannot simply leave it!"

But Aria pulled him up anyways, careful not to pull to hard, lest she topple over. He pulled himself up the rest of the way, and stood at full height in front of her. Their laughter subsided now, and they were left looking eachother in the eyes with very little to say. Boromir opened his mouth again, and Aria thought he was about to speak to her. Instead, she felt his warm mouth on hers.

He tasted of fruity wine, and his mouth was warm and soft. She was surprised, but leaned into the kiss after a moment. Sensing encouragement, he pulled her closer to him, and placed one hand on the small of her back. She wound her arms around his neck, depening the kiss.

Something inside Boromir snapped here, and he realised that his actions were hardly appropriate. A voice of reason in his mind told him that he was drunk, and so was she, and this was no way to treat her. She had kissed him back, though, but he reminded himself that the wine had a far stronger affect on her, and it would not be appropriate to continue this. With a sigh, he pulled away,

"Oh, Eru. What have I done?" he whispered quitely, but not too quietly for Aria not to hear. Confused by this she took a step back. Realization dawned on her when she reasoned that he was drunk and hadn't meant to kiss her at all. Emotion overcame her then, and she let out a teary goodbye.

"Goodnight, Boromir." she said quietly, before quickly turning away towards her rooms. Boromir thought to call back to her, to ask her what was wrong, but he decided that it was for the best, and they would talk about it tomorrow.

He walked back into his rooms, and tried his best not to think of the events of that evening, and tried not to let his mind wander to the strange, but beautiful young woman a few doors down.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A/N:Thanks to the people who reviewed, I wish there were more of you! Reviews make me write faster :P Sorry for the delay in posting this, but I've had some pretty serious computer troubles over the last week or so, so updating when I feel like it has been difficult.

* * *

Aria woke up the next morning not feeling so well. Her eyes were puffy and red from lack of sleep, her head was pounding from lack of sobriety, and her heart was aching for lack of an idea of what to do about Boromir. The kiss had been more than pleasant, and she would be lying if she said that she didn't want it to happen again. In fact, if she could be with Boromir for the rest of her life, she would, she was sure of it.

What had occurred to her that she hadn't really thought of before, though she suspected that she was trying to put out of her mind, was that Boromir, according to the chronicle of Mr. Tolkien himself, was destined to die. Sooner, rather than later.

Mind you, that wasn't why she ran from him the night before. After hearing him utter the words "Eru, what have I done?" she naturally assumed that he hadn't really intended to kiss her and rather regretted his actions. She might have felt differently about his death if she had known, with certainty, that he wanted to be with her. She had been feeling, for a while now, that she had truly come to like Boromir, and last night she realized that it was a great deal more than 'like'.

She kicked herself mentally for hours upon hours for falling in love with a man doomed to die, but you know what they say, you can't help who you love. She thought about all the reasons not to want to be with him, including his corruption at the hands of the ring, and yet, when she pictured his face in her head, or when she thought about the kiss they had shared, she could feel her heart beat faster and stomach doing somersaults.

She was, however, determined not to let these out of hand feelings get the best of her better judgement. Pursuing a relationship with the Gondorian man would be unwise, at best, and fatal at worst. Apart from these things weighing on her mind, today was the day of the council, and she would be forced to pay attention and give input, despite her wanting nothing more than to curl up in her rooms and die.

It was then that she heard a knock on the door. She looked to the window, the sun was high in the sky, it must have been close to noon. She haphazardly threw on a robe and moped over to the door, glaring briefly at the surge of light. In front of her, fully dressed, and clearly not as affected by the copious amounts of drink they had, was Boromir.

"Aria, may I have a moment to speak with you before the council?"

Aria hesitated, "Not right now, sorry. I have to get dressed then prepare myself for the meeting. Perhaps later."

With that, she closed the door slowly on him, and walked back into her room. She felt bad lying to him like that, but truly, she couldn't speak to him today, or perhaps ever, the way they used to. Her friendship (and maybe something more) with him would only lead to heartbreak and trouble in the end, and it was best to distance herself from him as best she could. This thought brought tears to her eyes, and she let out a quiet sob as she rang for bath water to be brought to her rooms.

On the other side of the door, Boromir sighed. She was ignoring him, he could tell. The question was, why? She had seemed upset the night before, and he hoped it wasn't because of their kiss. He had quite enjoyed it, and only stopped himself for fear that their inebriated state made the situation beyond inappropriate, and bordering on dangerous.

It also occurred to him that she probably regretted the whole thing, too. This was not something he wanted very much to dwell on, and he was determined to get her to speak to him about it. The kiss had awoken something dormant in him, and he was more than ready to pursue it with vigour. Aria was one of the most extraordinary women he had ever met. What this meant to him, he was not yet sure, but he fully intended to find out.

He stood there for a moment, thinking. Just as he was about to leave, he heard a quiet sob from inside. He bowed his head at whatever pain he had caused her, and felt shameful for his behaviour. She was an innocent, and he had taken advantage of her! All of a sudden, he felt afraid of Aria, and afraid of what he had made her feel. Sadly, he walked away from her door, but not before looking back at it longingly.

Inside, Aria waited for Ethiriel to come with her bath water. She needed to talk to the elleth, to have her help her sort things out in her head. Aria was somewhat inexperienced with men, and especially with men like Boromir, who acted quite differently to men of her time.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Ethiriel popped by, with another elf in tow with two buckets of warm water. Aria looked up at the elleth with sad eyes, and Ethiriel quickly dismissed the other elf before sitting down on the bed beside Aria.

"Oh, my. What has happened? You look terrible, Aria."

Aria made to respond, but could not, and only cried. It was stupid, she knew it was, to be sobbing over a relationship that hadn't happened. She relayed the events of the night before to Ethiriel, as well as her feelings about Boromir. She left out her knowledge of the future of his fate, though. Ethiriel sighed sympathetically,

"Ai, that is quite the situation. But perhaps you are misconstruing Lord Boromir's feelings and intentions? Perhaps there is an entirely different reason as to why he pulled away."

"What other reason could there be? He was clearly disgusted!", replied Aria irrationally waving her arms about, handkerchief in hand. She blew her nose into the small piece of cloth, "Oh, Ethiriel. I'm afraid that he doesn't like me that way at all. I know I can't be with him, but still, knowing that he doesn't love me back hurts all the same."

Ethiriel looked annoyed now, "You have yet to tell me WHY you cannot be with him! As far as I can tell, there is no real reason! Talk to him, Aria. I am sure there is another explanation. Unless he's secretly your brother, I cannot see any real reason not to pursue such a relationship. Luthien pursued Beren, despite their hardships, and Lady Arwen pursues her Aragorn! Whatever ails the possibility of pursuing your love surely cannot be as bad as that..."

Aria looked up at the elleth painfully, and decided to tell her the truth, "Boromir will die, Ethiriel. Sooner than one would imagine. I can't be with a man who I know I will never see again once he leaves Rivendell."

Ethiriel looked confused, and then realization dawned on her features, "It is said in your book..."

Aria nodded. The elleth look a little forlorn, then. "Truly, I do not know how to help you with this. If a relationship can be avoided, I think that it is wise to do so. Though, I do not envy you."

Ethiriel hugged Aria then, and left her to take her bath and get ready for the Council of Elrond.

* * *

"Friends, you have been called here to answer the threat of Mordor."

The council went as normally, and as slowly, as Aria imagine it would. She was a little surprised that she had not been called upon yet, though she suspected that it would come up when the fate of the fellowship would be discussed.

Boromir added his two cents about the rightful king of Gondor, and his plan to take the ring to Gondor, and though Aria was disappointed by his behaviour, she was not surprised at all. He sat back down in his seat, and he looked at Aria. Through her peripherals, she could see him staring at her, with a strange look in his eye. Studiously ignoring him, she looked to Frodo.

Frodo sat in his seat looking a little forlorn, and not really sure what to do. Aria could sympathize with the little hobbit. The arguments ensued, of course, and only her and Elrond and Frodo remained calm at this time, which was curious and amusing enough to the three of them. Elrond looked a little apprehensive, so Aria gave him an encouraging smile. She had inadvertently made it known to him and Gandalf that things would go well in this war, or they were supposed to, at least.

Elrond and Gandalf seemed to be of the opinion that although things were projected to go well, Aria's presence in this world may have altered things, and now, nothing could be known for sure. This worried Aria, as she had come to think of Middle-Earth, and its inhabitants, as her home.

The fellowship had been decided on, and so far, everything was exactly the way it should be. Or so she thought, until Gandalf stopped the discussion,

"Lady Aria, we have not yet heard of your knowledge. I will not ask you to reveal the future to us, though I have no doubt that you could." he said slowly, looking at Elrond. A look was shared between the two, and Gandalf continued, "It is my belief that your sight could be of use to us on the journey to Mordor. I do not wish for you to tell the fellowship anything they should not know, but simply to make sure that the quest goes according to plan. Your being in Middle-Earth right now is sign enough the the tides have changed, and perhaps things are different than they would be. I would like for you to see this quest through on the right course, if you will."

Aria looked pensively for a moment, at the ring. She looked at Frodo then, who looked up at her with hopeful eyes. She looked to Legolas and Gimli, and then to Aragorn and Boromir. She knew that this war would come to the race of men, and she saw the most shadow and doubt in their eyes. She began to think that if she did not come along, that shadow would remain in their eyes, and hope would be difficult for them to see. With a slow smile, she responded,

"Yes, I will come. But I can't promise for how long. I will go on as long as I think the journey requires my guidance, but I do not wish to change too much." she paused there, "Someone once told me that the Valar have their reasons for doing the things that they do, and I do not feel right interfering with their power."

Gandalf nodded wisely, and happily clapped his hands together,

"Very well, you shall be the Fellowship of the Ring." said Elrond, iconic-ally. Aria giggled a bit at this, and looked hesitantly towards Boromir. He had a soft look in his eye, almost pleading. Aria made eye contact with him for a moment, and a small smile betrayed her, but she looked away quickly.

That evening found the fellowship sitting around the garden, talking quietly, making preliminary plans for their trip. The biggest concern at the moment, after decided which route to take, was getting everyone fully equipped and prepared. It was decided that the hobbits and Aria would take weaponry lessons. Aria groaned a little at this, but agreed reluctantly. She didn't think she'd ever be very good with a weapon, and very nervous about learning how to use one.

It would be just under two months until they left Rivendell, which was hardly enough time to fully learn the ins and outs of a weapon, but it was enough to time to figure out which weapons they would have an aptitude for, and to get them started on the basics.

"I'd like to use a broadsword, myself." said Pippin, matter-of-factly. Aragorn and Boromir laughed their big booming laughs. Pippin blushed a little bit, but admitted to himself that it was a little unlikely, given his size.

"I think daggers would suit the hobbits better, though you'll have to build up enough strength behind your blows to do any real damage." replied Boromir thoughtfully. Aragorn nodded in agreement.

"I think an axe would be far too heavy, even for the strongest hobbit."

"What should I use, do you think?" Aria asked, curiously. Boromir and Aragorn looked thoughtful for a moment, then Legolas piped up,

"Why not a bow? I am certain that I could make you a fine archer within months! The best there was in the walks of men."

Aria considered this. The idea of shooting a bow as gracefully and coolly as an elf was appealing, but she neglected to tell Legolas how awful her aim was. Luckily, Boromir piped up then,

"Yes, I'm sure you could, Legolas, my friend, if Aria were not so poor an aim. I recall a moment in our travels where I asked her to toss me an apple from her pack. I stood not ten feet from her, and she missed my open hands by three, to the left."

They all laughed at this, and Aria laughed a little less. Boromir then thought of Aria's aptitude for dancing, and her quick and precise movements. The way she extended her arms so precisely, but strongly as well, gave him an idea, "What about a spear?"

Aragorn looked thoughtful, then nodded slowly, "Yes, that could do."

"I know it could do." Boromir replied with a little annoyance, "She is tall for a woman, tall enough to wield a spear. She has enough strength to throw herself into a blow, and it does not require the aim of archery, nor the strength of a sword."

Aria grew a little bored of the conversation as Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Boromir discussed where they might procure such a weapon, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw two bobbing black heads in the bushes. She heard hushed voices then, in elvish,

"Is that you, Elladan, Elrohir?"

She heard a quiet string of curses, and the twins came out from their hiding spot. Elladan was holding a wineskin, and Elrohir carried a plate of what looked like porridge. Legolas looked frightened for a moment then, and took off in a sprint. The twins dropped the wineskin, and ran after the Prince with the bowl of gruel,

"Come back! It is high time you pay, young prince ling!"

The rest of them looked confused, when Aragorn elaborated for them,

"Three-hundred years ago Legolas visited Imladris with his father, Thranduil. Legolas was quite young then, for an elf, and he played a prank in bad taste on the Peredhil twins. They are still, to this day, trying to seek their revenge."

"What did he do to them?" Merry asked with curiosity and laughter.

"I believe it had something to do with wine and ink, and tinting their teeth black for weeks. At this time, Lord Elrohir was courting a pretty elleth who did not find him quite so appealing with black teeth, and I believe that Lord Elladan was teased mercilessly by Lords Glorfindel and Erestor."

"I do not envy Legolas. Elladan and Elrohir are formidable when turned against you." Aria added in amusement. They all agreed to this, most of them having been on the receiving end of one of the pettier little jokes in the past.

"Ai, it is all in good fun. Relations will be good indeed between Mirkwood and Imladris once Elrond and Thranduil move on to Valinor." said Aragorn, getting up and fetching the fallen wineskin, and emptying it on the grass before someone decided to drink it.

Most of them headed to bed then, to get started on the preparations early the next day. After a few moments, the only ones left were Frodo, Boromir and Aria. Sensing things becoming a little awkward, Frodo mentioned something he had to do...vitally...right now...sorry...he had to go.

They were silent for a moment, and Boromir opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, as if to speak. Aria looked at him, and made to leave, but Boromir caught her hand in his,

"Aria...I...I'm sorry if I made you angry last evening. It was not my intent."

Aria looked at the floor, and focused on a blade or two of grass, "That's alright, Boromir. No harm done, you needn't worry about it anymore."

Boromir looked confused at this comment, "Of course I should worry. You have barely spoken to me all day, and when I try to confront you about it, you ignore me."

"I just didn't want to make it awkward between us, since we're going to have to be spending a lot of time together over the next while."

Boromir was silent, then. He looked at her angrily, "Fine, if that is what you wish, then consider it done. We will go on as if nothing ever happened. Good night, Aria."

His words stung at her, and she knew that he was upset with her. It hurt her even more to see that he wanted to reconcile, but she would not. Not only would not, but could not. She wanted desperately to tell him everything, about how she felt, and about the future, but she knew that she couldn't. She watched his back as he walked back towards their rooms. A few tears slipped out then, but she brushed them away quickly before retreating quietly to her bed.

* * *

"Hold it tightly, but not too tightly. Keep is balanced in your hands. Yes...like that."

Aria struggled to hold the spear in her hands as Aragorn positioned her properly, "Alright, now thrust forward with the spear as strongly as you can."

He analyzed this then, and tsked as she let it falter at the end, "Hold it straight! If you let it fall, you let your enemy get away!"

Aria groaned. They had been doing this for hours now, and her arms were exhausted. From the sidelines, Legolas, teeth still intact, piped in mentioning that her arms would no doubt be tired after a battle as well, and she must learn to cope with this. Aragorn came at her again, then, this time with a little more force. For the first time, she was able to parry his blow, and push him back, if but a little.

Grinning happily, she looked to Aragorn triumphantly. He cocked an eyebrow at her as if to say 'don't get cocky now...', and swung at her again. This time, she was not paying attention, and the practice sword hit her squarely on the arm. It left what she could sense would be a bruise, and she rubbed it, frowning.

"No need to hit so hard, Aragorn."

"Then do not get so lazy in your greatness." he replied, mockingly.

They practised like this for another half an hour, before Aria told Aragorn that she literally felt as if she was going to collapse. Aragorn let her have a break then, and they stopped for a while. While they sat on the sidelines of the practice ring, he pulled out two apples. Aria beamed up at him; she loved apples more than any other fruit in the world. They say there, eating their apples and watching the other practising elves and guests. Aria looked up from her apple core to see the hobbits and Boromir. They were practising using their new daggers, given to them by the weapon smith. When they could not parry a thrust of Boromir's, or when they lost their weapons altogether, they resorted to kicking him in the shins, and punching him in the gut. Unfortunately, they could not put much force behind their blows, and Aria and Aragorn were sure that their actions felt no worse than tickles to Boromir.

Aria couldn't help but giggle at this and cheer the hobbits on, like many of the other spectators. Boromir fought gallantly, to be sure, but was eventually slain by the ferocious halflings, and buckled over on the ground with a moan. Merry, it would seem, had kicked him in the knee-cap and sufficiently incapacitated the warrior. Merry, Pippin, Sam and Frodo cheered at their great victory, and Boromir got up eventually, ruffling the curly hair on their heads. They gave him a friendly pat on the lower back (for this is how high they could reach),

"Don't worry, Boromir. It takes a lot of practice to fight like that. I'm sure with time you could manage as well." said Pippin, jokingly. He found himself, then, being hoisted into the air over Boromir's shoulder, and brought closer and closer to the pond near the practice ring. Whoops and cheers could be heard from the crowd as Boromir and Pippin approached the water. Pippin was kicking his legs and beating Boromir's back, but to no effect.

Boromir laughed as he made to throw the hobbit in the pond, but stopped then, and set the frightened hobbit back on the ground, safely. Pippin grinned at him, and kicked leaves up at him, before walking away.

Aria looked at Boromir then, a sweet expression on his face. She longed to rush over to him and kiss him then, when he looked so happy. It would be a long time before she knew he would be happy again, and she knew that she was partially to blame for this. He met her eyes then, and smiled sadly at her. She exchange this look with him, before turning back to her apple, and finishing it within a few bites.

That evening at dinner, Aria sat alone at the end of the table, so as to avoid the other guests and Boromir. Elladan and Elrohir came to sit there, after a while, seeing that she was eating alone. They asked her concerned, albeit joking questions, due to her silence and solitude. Aria replied that she was simply tired and didn't feel like talking to anyone tonight. The twins accepted this answer, but they did not leave her. Instead, they entertained her with stories of their childhood, and terrorizing the lords of Rivendell.

It was at this moment that Lord Glorfindel came over to their party, and requested to speak with Aria,

"Lord Elrond and I wish to see you in his study after dinner, if you have nothing else planned. It shall not take long, we have but a few simple questions."

Aria nodded, and continued to eat her food in silence, although she was much more curious now. She tried to finish her food as quickly as she could, and left a little bit behind on her plate. She picked up her skirts then, and jogged over to Elrond's study, which was not too far from the dining hall. Approaching the door, she took a deep breath. For some reason, speaking privately with Lord Elrond always made her nervous. Perhaps it was because he was a super-powerful elf-lord, who had lived for thousands of years, and carried a very shiny and powerful ring of power?

She knocked on the door, lightly, feeling that she would disturb him if it was any louder. She heard a far-off voice telling her to come in, so she opened the giant door, and stepped inside Lord Elrond's bright and airy study. He was sitting at his desk, filtering through pieces of parchment, and several books were open. He glanced up at her, and told her to sit down,

"I simply wanted to ask you why you are not sure if you will follow the fellowship to Mordor."

Aria looked confused, she thought she had explained this at the council. She repeated herself, "Well, you see, my coming here has already changed things, and so I do not think it would be wise to stick around if I saw that my presence was changing the course of events too drastically."

Elrond thought about this, "So you believe that your presence will do so, eventually."

Aria nodded. Elrond looked pensive for a moment, before he suggested something that neither surprised her, nor angered her, "Then why do you not stay in Rivendell?"

"I have no home to return to, Lord Elrond. With all due respect, Middle-Earth is my home now, too. I will fight for it just the same as anyone else." she paused for a moment, before adding, "And between you and me, I am the only person on this earth who can make sure that the quest goes according to plan, as much as it pains me to say so."

Elrond saw in her then, a great sadness attached to her knowledge. He saw that not only could she see the future of the quest, but also, all the casualties and hardships that went a long with it. His heart went out to this young woman who had been through so much, and could see the rest. He only hoped that some good might come out of this quest, for her, and that she may eventually find peace in Middle-Earth.

He and Aria walked back into the dining hall then, a little more somber than when they had left it, and many sensed it. A dreary sadness came over the group then, as if all were thinking the same thing. The future was not too far ahead, and it would come at a price they would all have to pay dearly.

* * *

A/N: I got a newww comppuuuterrrrr! SO REVIEW out of happiness for me!


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry it's been a while, I've been really busy partying hard this weekend. You'll all be pleased to hear that I had a LOTR themed day this weekend. Megab16 and I, along with another friend, played Lord of the Rings Risk, ate Lembas Bread (I'll include the link at the bottom if any of you are curious as to which recipe I used, though I'm sure you've all googled this recipe before, you dorks), and drank hot apple cider. We ended the day by watch the FoTR Extended Edition, and we skipped the boring parts (don't look at me like that, you know you all do it, too). So, in celebration of nerdiness, I'm trying to update as quickly as I can this week, despite midterms. SO, enough of this, and on to the story.

* * *

It was another long couple of days for Aria. She divided her time mercilessly between training with her spear with either Aragorn, Legolas or one (sometimes both!) of the twins, learning a bit of geography in preparation for their journey, or preparing in general. She had little time for anything else, and neither did any of her companions. She saw Boromir occasionally, and though they rarely spoke, unspoken feelings kept flying between them.

Today, however, was a more relaxing day for the young woman. Tonight there was a celebration in honour of Lord Erestor's birthday. As you can imagine, the elves celebrate a great many birthday, so only the big ones are actually noticed. Lord Erestor was turning 6,000 today, and as such, a celebration was in order. Few of her companions were still preparing today, and only the most vital preparations were still being completed. All of Rivendell was invited to the celebration in the Hall of Fire, despite Lord Erestor's wanting it to be 'quiet affair, just a few friends, maybe we can skip it all together...'

Elves were bustling around, preparing the feast and choosing Erestor's favourite dishes. Seamstresses worked all morning to do last minute alterations to various gowns, cooks were cooking all day, musicians were learning the elf-lord's favourite tunes, friends were picking out gifts, and everyone else was chatting about how wonderful the party would be later. Times were growing dark, this they all knew, and the power of the elves was not enough to block it out entirely. A celebration was just what they needed to liven-up the glorious halls of Imladris.

Aria slept in today, until past ten, actually. This was nearly unheard of among the elves, who needed little sleep, and got up at the crack of dawn. Ethiriel was quite concerned when she came by at 9 o'clock and saw her lady still asleep in bed. She had not the heart to wake the young woman, whom she knew had been working very hard over the last week or so, training for her journey. Ethiriel decided that Aria deserved a day off, and simply lay out some clothes for her before tip-toeing (not that the elleth needed to) out of the room.

Aria woke a bit later, and stretched languorously in her bed. Her sheets had never felt softer, or warmer. Instead of getting up, she reached over to her bedside table, and pulled a book out of the drawer there. It was a book of poetry written for her by Bilbo, once he had found out that she had a fondness for the stuff. She was just getting into the Ballad of Gil-Galad when she heard a loud knock at her door. With a sigh, she hopped out of bed and threw on a long shawl to cover her nightdress. She walked over the door,

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she said quickly, while the person on the other side knocked again. She opened the door quickly, "Yes?"

She looked up and saw familiar grey eyes. Her heart jumped to her throat for a moment then, and she felt her mouth go a bit dry. Boromir looked just as anxious as she did,

"Aria, I have come to speak with you."

"Yes, I can see that."

"May I come in? I shall wait in the sitting room until you are decent."

Not being able to think of a valid excuse as to why he couldn't come in (there being a pack of wild dogs inside didn't seem like something plausible), she nodded her head slowly, and watched as he wordlessly walked into her sitting room, and plopped himself at the small table that was there. He waited patiently for her as she went back into her rooms and hastily threw on some clothes. Passing the mirror on her way out, she caught sight of her hair and quickly ran a brush through it. She looked pale, and so she pinched her cheeks and bit her lips to bring some colour to them. Still unsatisfied with her appearance, but wanting (for a reason she really couldn't put her finger on...) to look fabulous, she changed out of her trousers and into a simple, but elegant dress. Finally deeming herself appropriate to be seen, and having taken much too long to get ready, she walked quietly, and nervously into the sitting room.

Boromir was sitting there, at her small table, still, looking quite pale. She approached him cautiously. He looked up at her and smiled encouragingly, and motioned for her to sit down. He cleared his throat then, and finally, spoke up,

"I am sure that you know why I came here. I am still very uncomfortable with our silence, and I do not understand why you refuse to speak with me." he paused then, and looked to her, as if to test her reaction. When she did nothing, he continued, "You must know, Aria, how I feel. I know what I said when we last spoke, but I cannot stay away from you, surely you have noticed."

He stopped then, and she made no reaction. She blinked a few times, as if processing his words, "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Boromir. What happened was a total accident, nothing more."

Boromir was angry now, she could tell. She almost wished she hadn't said what she did, but she knew it was for the best. He got up from his chair then, and stood in front of her.

"Is that truly all you can say? We kissed, Aria! You know that we did, and you know that you adored every minute of it, as I did! Why must you deny yourself that? You know how I feel about you, you always have, and I have reason to believe that you feel the same way. Why, then, do you push me from you?"

It had all become too much for Aria now. A few small tears trickled down her cheek, but Boromir continued on, "I love you, you must know that. I do not know how deep that love runs, but I know it is there. Why is it that you cannot see that in yourself as well? I see your looks, and the way your eyes speak to mine, I am no fool!" he paused, looking at her face then, and seeing her tears. He added softly, bending down close to her, "I wish to be there for you. I see how difficult your knowledge has become, it is plain to all, but I wish you would let me help you. There is nothing I want more than to be your pillar of strength in these times. You must know that I love you, Aria."

A quiet sob escaped her, and Boromir made to hold her, and take her into his arms. She wanted dearly to do this, but she pushed him away softly instead. She looked up to meet his eyes, and saw nothing but love and guilt there.

"Such things cannot be, Boromir. I've seen into the future, and to accept a relationship with you would be heartbreaking."

Boromir was confused by this, but realization dawned on his features after a minute, "What ails you, Aria? What have you seen of my future?"

"I shouldn't tell you, really. It could change the future...it can change our lives." she responded quietly, though she yearned to tell him, to warn him. Boromir's eyes flashed, and he held her close to him, despite her pushing him away.

"Damn the future, Aria! It is the present now, and I wish to know why you would deny yourself love in present!"

"You want to know why, Boromir? Yes, I love you. Yes, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Yes, yes, yes! But none of that will happen! We're in the middle of a war now, and you will be one of its greatest casualties! You're going to die, sooner rather than later, and I am saving us both the heartbreak of that."

Boromir was shocked by this news. He had expected that something had been holding her back, but nothing like this. He had expected that he was to take a wife someday, and that she would not interfere with that, or that he had some important business to attend to, but nothing like this. He was silent for a long time, and Aria cried silently in front of him, knowing that she had broken him.

Boromir got up then, and stood near the door, as if to leave. He looked back at her, sitting in the chair, and made to say something. He closed his mouth, silently, and looked away slowly, before exiting the room.

Aria sat there for hours, weeping for her heart, and for Boromir.

* * *

"Where is Aria, Aragorn? I have not seen her all morning." asked Elladan, curiously. He had hoped to train with her spear a little this morning. One day without practise could undo all of her progress! Aragorn shrugged. He asked his brother, too, though he also had no idea. He thought to ask the hobbits, but remembered that they had been with Bilbo all morning.

Elladan decided to got check on her in rooms, and if she was not there, to find Ethiriel, her handmaiden. Surely the elleth had seen her yet today.

Some time later, she heard another knock at her door. This time, instead of scrambling up to get it, she let them knock, and did not move from her chair. The knocker persisted however, and let himself in after a few moments. It was Elladan, for once without his brother. He had been worrying after his friend when he had not seen her all day. It was nearing four in the afternoon now, and he had wondered if she wanted an escort to the feast. She was so sit beside him and his brother, and the rest of the fellowship, anyway.

* * *

When he walked in, however, and saw her clearly in a state of distress, he rushed over to her, hastily closing the door behind her. He bent down on his knees, and took hold of her shoulders gently, "Aria, _mellon nin_, what is the matter?"

She shook her head in response, and proceeded to cry harder. Elladan, slightly at a loss for what to do, pulled up a chair in front of her, and took her hands in his. He whispered softly to her in elvish, words of comfort and relaxation, and finally her sobs seemed to lessen.

"Now, Aria, will you tell me what is amiss? It pains me to see my friend so upset, especially one so lovely as yourself." he said softly. Aria could not help but giggle at this, _trust Elladan to always be a flatterer. _

Aria shifted her skirts around then, and wrung her hands nervously. Elladan laid a hand on top of hers, "Do not be nervous. You may tell me anything in confidence, I will tell no one, not even my brother."

Aria took a deep breath, "I spoke with Boromir."

Elladan looked incensed then. His eyes flashed with anger and he stood up abruptly, "What did the cur do to you? Tell me now and I will have him thrown out of Imladris!"

Aria jumped up quickly, "No, no! He didn't do anything, it was my fault!"

Elladan seemed to have calmed slightly, but still looked a little suspicious. She continued now, "There is no reason to have him thrown out of anywhere. He came in to make peace with me, to tell me how he truly felt."

Elladan was intrigued now, and much less angry. He had hoped that Boromir would talk to Aria and that the two would make up. He desired very much to see her happy, and it was plain to nearly everyone that the Gondorian Captain had strong feelings for the strange young woman. It occurred to him then that she was crying, and so this encounter must not have gone well,

"And though I feel the same, a relationship would be beyond unwise."

"Why is that? I see no real reason why."

Aria paused, thinking about whether or not to tell Elladan about Boromir's fate. She decided that she could use his council now, and that perhaps a second opinion on what to do would be useful right now, "Because I have seen it...I have seen his death. It is not from old age as one would hope, or death in some distant battle, it is soon. He will be one of the first casualties of our fellowship."

Elladan was surprised, but not overly so. Things like this had happened before, and he was no stranger to the use of some kind of sight. But this was not sight, this was following a chronicle written in another world, and he reminded himself of this. "And you think it would be nothing short of heartbreaking to allow yourself to love him when you know when and where he will die. Did you tell him this?"

Aria nodded. Elladan sighed heavily. This complicated things considerably, and explained why she was crying. Not only had she upset herself, but she had ruined Boromir. He held her for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say. He did not have the wisdom to help her in this, but he knew exactly who did. It was not Gandalf or Elrond, but rather, his sister, who was no stranger to odd matters of the heart.

"Aria, if you do not object, I would like to bring my sister, Arwen here. I believe her counsel may of good use to you right now, for I am not sure what to do. Three-thousand years does not prepare you for situations such as this." he said with a sad smile. Aria nodded hesitantly, and opened the door for him to go get Arwen.

She sat back down at the table, and smoothed her skirts. Visits with the elven princess always made her feel shamefully plain. She shook these thoughts from her head now, knowing there were more important issue to be dealt with.

Elladan left Aria's rooms quickly, and passes by Boromir's room. Boromir saw the elf from his window, and looked at the worried expression on the elf's face. He was coming from Aria's room, he knew, for he had seen the elf go there to begin with. He felt a pang of jealousy speed through him, knowing that the elf-lord had been there to comfort her when he could not be.

Truthfully, Boromir needed her comfort as much as she did, though he was not as lucky in his friends as she was. He did not know what to think about the news she had given him, and he felt awfully guilty for having left her there weeping. But, he needed to be alone, and that could not be helped. He sat in his rooms that afternoon, thinking, and trying desperately to distract himself. He wanted to read the Ballad of Gil-Galad, but remembered that he had lent it to Aria a few days back.

He sat in his rooms and fidgeted, paced, and mumbled anxiously for the entire afternoon. He hadn't a clue what to do, and the thought of his own death sent shivers through his entire body. Of all the things he regretted, making Aria cry, the knowledge of his imminent death, and his complicated love for Aria, it was knowing that she would not have him that upset him more than anything.

He was distracted by this momentarily when he saw the elf Elladan rush past his window again, closely followed by his sister, Arwen.

* * *

Elladan had returned with Arwen, and Aria tried to smile as graciously as possible,

"Thank you for coming, my lady. I am grateful for your adv-"

"Enough of that, Aria. I am here to help, not to command your respect." the elf-maiden replied, sitting in the chair across from her gracefully. Elladan went into the bedroom to fetch another chair, and pulled it up beside his sister's.

Aria sighed, and a few tears escaped her eyes, "Oh, Arwen, I've no idea what to do."

"Elladan has informed of your situation, and as unfortunate as it is, I do not think it is as bad as you think." Aria was quite taken aback by this, but listened on, regardless, "You a worried for your heart, and that is understandable. However, I think that maybe you might not have to. Have you considered what your coming here, and the feelings between you and Boromir have done to the fibres of the future?"

Aria contemplated this, "Well, I'm assuming it has changed some things, but perhaps not everything. It is my duty to the fellowship to keep the quest on the right course."

"And yet, you know that your presence has changed things. Is it not possible then, that Boromir will not die? From what I hear from my brother, you are a fair fighter. May you not save him?"

Aria scoffed, "I don't think so. He is killed during an orc attack, and Aragorn arrives just a little too late to save him."

"Why do you accompany him there then, and save him when the time comes? If Aragorn arrives a little too late, why don't you appear in his stead, and save Boromir?"

Aria was silent, momentarily. She hadn't thought about this. But that was not the whole problem, "But if I save Boromir, does that not change the future drastically? I can assure you that it would."

Arwen stopped for a moment, and looked at Aria solemnly. Aria saw then, the wisdom in Arwen's eyes, and looked up at the elf-maiden expectantly, "The Valar brought you to Middle-Earth for a reason, and you love Boromir for a reason. It would be unwise to treat that lightly. Perhaps it is your purpose to change the course of this quest, whether it be a little or a lot. No one can know now, not even you. You may still try to keep the fate of us all on its proper course, but to risk a life when it could be saved is not wise, either. Perhaps the tides have changed, and I do not think the Valar would have you deny love, their most beautiful gift, simply because it will be hard. I would know this better than most."

Arwen smiled sadly at the young woman then, who was looking up at her in awe. What a fool she had been. Even if she saved Boromir, there were ways to keep things going as they should. Thinking logically now, she knew this could be overcome with hard work later on. She mentally kicked herself now for having told Boromir.

"Oh, thank you, Arwen. If it weren't for you, I'd still be acting like the fool I am."

"You are no fool, Aria. You are trying to do what is best, and you carry a great burden."

Aria hugged the woman, and gave Elladan an appreciative kiss on the cheek. The elves laughed then, and Arwen added, "It is nearly time for the feast now. Come, we will be late, but we have time yet to get ready. You will ready with me, today. Ethiriel needs to prepare herself, too."

Aria thanked her again, and they made their way to Arwen's rooms.

* * *

Boromir was putting on his good boots when he saw three people rush by his window again. It was the elves Elladan and Arwen, followed by Aria. He saw her long legs match the elves' strides, and his heart gave a pang then. Tonight would be painful for him, at best, to have to (yet again) watch Aria from afar, when he dearly desired to be near.

* * *

"I think this colour will do nicely, do not you think?" Arwen asked, holding up a wine-red coloured gown next to Aria. Arwen was a little taller than then young woman, but not enough to make her gown too big. Aria was a bit thinner, but Arwen was lending her a dress from her 'youth' (she had still been over a thousand years old in her 'youth'), in hopes that it would fit a little better.

Aria held the rich fabric in her hands. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, soft yet firm in her hands. She tried the gown on, and it fit quite nicely. It was cut in a 'v', and the neckline was adorned with tiny jewels. The sleeves billowed out at her elbows, and the gown had a slit in the side that revealed some gold silk, sweeping around her legs. Arwen gave her matching slippers, and sat her down so that her handmaiden may do her hair,

"Would you like it up or down, my lady?" the handmaiden asked politely, toying with Aria's hair. Arwen responded for the young woman,

"Nothing to constricting. Make it look natural...she needs to look ravishing tonight."

The handmaiden smiled knowingly, and began to weave intricate braids, pulling some hair back from her face. The end result was a mix between the two, with some hair pulled back, out of her face, and the rest hanging loosely in natural waves. Aria smiled appreciatively, and thanked the handmaiden. Arwen finished readying herself then, and handed Aria a small box,

"You may keep it, Aria. A gift from one female to another. I hope it makes you feel beautiful everyday." Aria thanked her, and opened the box. Inside, she found a simple, but beautiful necklace. It had a large tear-shaped ruby hanging from it, and when put it on, it lay comfortably just above her breasts. Arwen winked at her, before opening the door,

"My brother is waiting for you, I believe."

* * *

"Lady Arwen Undomiel and Lord Aragorn, son of Arathorn."

Arwen and Aragorn walked over to their place at the long table, always nearest the front.

"Lord Elladan and Lady Aria."

Elladan smiled at her encouragingly, knowing that Aria was nervous about seeing Boromir. He guided her over to their seats, and he greeted their companions. All said hello, except for Boromir, who's eyes were fixed on Aria. Their glances met, then, and she offered him a sad smile. He looked confused for a moment, and then got up from his seat, politely,

"Lady Aria. You look beautiful this evening."

Aria blushed, and met his glance boldly, "Thank you, my lord."

Elladan swallowed a gulp of wine. This would be an interesting dinner, to be sure.

* * *

All throughout dinner they all made amiable conversation. They talked of a potential hunt the next morning, preparations for the journey, and which musicians might be playing in the Hall of Fire later. Everyone participated, though all noticed that Aria and Boromir barely spoke. They spent half the night staring intensely at one another, or not talking or making eye contact at all. Just when their companions began to grow weary of this strange behaviour, Erestor began his speech.

It was dull, as are most things that Erestor does. They all tried to pay as much attention as they could, though some of them found themselves staring absent-mindedly at the arrangement of walnuts, or wondering at whether or not hobbits wore footwear.

Aria chose this moment to make eye contact with Boromir, to somehow, try to tell him that she needed to speak to him. She reached for the salt shaker nearest to him on purpose in hopes that he might look up at her. He did, of course, and she looked into his eyes as if to tell him something. Boromir did not know what she wanted from him, but tonight, he could deny her nothing, and so he met her gaze as if to respond.

Erestor finished his speech at long last, and invited the guests into the hall. As they were getting up out of their seats, Boromir walked very slowly, noticing that Aria did the same. Soon, rather than being at the head of the party as they should have been, they were near the back, and Aria cocked her head as if to tell him to stay behind. He nodded.

They walked in silence to the small garden off of the dining hall, and sat on a bench there. Aria was about to speak when she heard a high-pitched giggle, followed by a deep moan. Cocking an eyebrow, she peered around the corner of a finely trimmed hedge, only to see one of the younger Rohirric noblewomen being shamelessly nuzzled and cosseted by one of the Rivendell kitchen staff. The young lovers noticed the presence of Aria and Boromir, and let out an embarrassed gasp.

Aria laughed to herself, shaking her head. "It seems we shall have to find some place else to talk, Boromir."

Boromir let a small smile creep across his face, before following her into another part of the garden, a little more secluded from the main area. She did not sit down this time, as there was no bench, but stood near a large oak tree at the back of the garden. Boromir walked over to her, but kept a safe distance.

"Boromir...I...I was wrong in some of the things I said earlier."

A/N: Don't hate me. I'll update again soon 3 In the meantime, feel free to review (even if it's about all the ways you want to kill me).


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A/N: Reviews! Why so few of you? Wherefore art thou, reviews? Maybe you guys will like this chapter better. Thank you to everyone who did review, and thanks so much to those of you who put me on your Story Alerts or Favourite Stories lists. It's really appreciated :) This chapter is for you!

* * *

"Boromir...I...I was wrong in some of the things I said earlier."

Boromir studied her face carefully. She looked beyond nervous, and she was wringing her hands in her dress again. He wanted to take her hands in his, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He sat there, patiently awaited for her to continue. Aria looked at him, as if waiting for him to ask her 'But, Aria, how were you wrong in some of the things you said earlier?', but the question never came. She knew she would have to just plough through this.

"I didn't think everything through. I let my fears of the future get away from me, and I'm sorry. I spoke with Lady Arwen, however. She has some experience is bizarre matters of the heart."

Boromir continued to look at her patiently, though she could see how much this conversation pained him. Truth be told, he wanted nothing more than for her to tell him that she loved him and be over with it all, but the wiser side of him said that it would be foolish to believe such a thing.

"She made it clear to me that the Valar have decided to change the course of this quest due to my being here. My very presence in Middle-Earth makes the future uncertain, and she is convinced that the...concerns...that I told you about earlier may be able to be thwarted."

Boromir chose this moment to speak, at last, "Aria, do not do this. You have told me already of my fate. Do not toy with me."

She looked at him pleadingly, "No, Boromir, I swear. I want to give this a chance. I don't know to what end, but that doesn't matter to me."

He looked away, and stood up. He walked over to the other end of the secluded garden, and toyed with the leaves of one of the trees there. Truthfully, he did not know what to make of her confession. He wanted to believe it, but part of him knew that it was possible that fate would work out exactly as it planned to before her coming to Middle-Earth. He stood there, fiddling with the fragrant green leaves on the tree, "You have tormented me, Aria. Not just by what you told me, but by tempting me as you have. I do not know, any more, if it is best to pursue such a relationship under the circumstances that you have presented."

Aria let a few tears slip down her cheeks. She had been a fool to think that he would just accept her now. She made to get up and leave, but he stopped her, placing a strong hand on her wrist "No, I am not finished."

She stopped and he let go of her arm. She went and stood by the same tree again, keeping her distance from him. She didn't know what would be appropriate now, or how to approach him in the way she wanted to. He sighed, and roughly tugged a leaf off the tree, "I will not pretend that I no longer love you after what you said earlier. You and I both know this would be a lie, but I am concerned about what it is you have presented. Yes, the Valar may have changed things, but they may not. I am not so certain that you are prepared for this outcome. For that matter, neither am I."

Aria nodded, "I would take my chances, to be with you, for however long I can."

"How do you feel about me, Aria?" he asked her suddenly, walking over to her. He placed a hand above her head on the tree, and stood closer to her. His eyes looked hopeful and dark at the same time.

"I'm not totally sure yet, Boromir. I know it's a great deal more than I've ever felt before, but I don't know what that means. I hope," she took a deep breath, "I hope that it means that I love you, or will come to love you."

He nodded lightly. He didn't move for a while, and they were both silent. Aria was growing fidgety. She knew that it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear, but it was the truth. She liked him, she was sure of that, but she was young, and didn't know her heart very well. Not to mention, thoroughly inexperienced. He was older than she was, and she had no doubt that he hadn't been as sheltered as she had, growing up as the handsome first-born son of the Steward. He must have had court ladies throwing themselves at him from the moment he looked old enough to entertain a woman.

Similarly, Boromir was considering the same things. She was so young. She could scarcely be over twenty-years old. He sighed, and looked into her eyes. She looked downcast, and she stared down at the roots of the oak tree they stood beside. He took a deep breath, before placing his hand underneath her chin. She looked up at him then, eyes wide and doe-like. She looked so afraid, "Do I frighten you, Aria?"

She tried to look away again, but he held her face in his hand. "Yes." she responded.

"Why?" he asked simply, not letting go of her face. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip, and he could feel it quiver slightly.

"Because I'm afraid of this. It's so new to me, but it's a pleasant sort of fear."

He smiled a little, and leaned closer to her. Her face angled upwards towards him, and their noses were almost touching now, "I do not know what will come of this, but it seems folly to deny ourselves something we both want."

Aria didn't say anything, but Boromir saw agreement in her eyes, "I place no requirements on you, Aria. I know what it is we have to go through before we can be at peace, but know that you have my heart."

He leaned in then, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She barely responded to his touch, and he placed his other hand in her hair. Her hand came up to meet his face, and rested on the side of his jaw. The kiss was quick, but filled with emotion, and Boromir could taste her tears on his lips when they broke the kiss. She smiled softly up at him, and he ran his hand softly across her cheek, wiping the few tears away.

"Something tells me that I have made the most wonderful mistake of my life." he said quietly, looking her in the eyes as he twirled a lock of her long hair around his finger. Aria looked mildly offended, but laughed quietly. "I mean only to say that you will surely be the death of me. There is nothing I could deny you."

"That," she said, kissing him on the cheek, "was a comment in very poor taste, Boromir." she said sternly, but her eyes were smiling. Realizing the parallel he had just made to the situation that started this whole discussion, he laughed.

"I assure you, it was not meant like that."

"I know." she said, smiling. She was unsure of what to say now. She was so used to the closure of her world. You were either together, or you were not. You were married or you were not. Dating or not. Casual, or not. With Boromir, she had no idea what they were, though she suspected that his feeling meant more to him, and carried more weight than they did for most men in her world.

Boromir was quiet for a while, and she knew what he was thinking. She had laid a massive burden on his mind, and she couldn't take it back until after the time came. "Boromir, I swear to you that I will be there. I know that I'm no seasoned warrior with my spear, but I swear to you that I'll do everything I can to prevent it. Damn the gods and their plans."

He smiled at her, sadly, "I would not have us both die needlessly."

"It wouldn't be needless, dying in the defence of a friend." She said sadly, thinking of his death. He would have died bravely, defending Merry and Pippin from dark foes. She wish she could tell him that. Perhaps it would ease his mind a little bit. She didn't know what else to call him, but she knew that he would always be a friend to her. He pulled her tight into his arms, and she rested her head on his chest. It fit there, right at his collar bone.

"I hope that it will not come to that. In the meantime, I intend to take advantage of the only time I know that I am safe. We leave Rivendell in two weeks, you know."

"Yes," she laughed, "I know when we leave, trust me."

He laughed at this, and gave her a light kiss. Looking at the sky, he noticed that the sun was beginning to set, "We have been here for a long time. We should return to the Hall of Fire, people will be wondering where we got off to. It would not be seemly to be alone for such an extended period of time."

She frowned, not really wanting to return to the celebrations, but consented nonetheless. He offered her his arm, and she took it, straightening her skirts and dress. He noticed her doing this, "I know I have told you already tonight, but you look very fair this evening, Aria. And might I add, that is a very cleverly placed pendant you wear. Surely not your own device..." he trailed off, smirking.

Aria blushed appreciatively, "I didn't realize you were looking, my lord." she said mockingly, fluttering her eyelashes at him. He laughed and placed his hand over hers on his arm. They walked into the Hall of Fire relatively unnoticed by all by Arwen. The elleth sent Aria a wink, and continued her conversation with Aragorn. Aria smiled and went over to get her and Boromir glasses of spiced wine. They talked quietly of really nothing at all for a while, just watching the crowd and listening to the music. The elves really had the most beautiful voices, Aria noted to herself. She found herself humming a long to a familiar tune that she had heard last time.

Her and Boromir did not dance this time, at least not together. Boromir was captured by one of the Rohirric ladies on more than one occasion, and Aria laughed at him mercilessly for this. She wasn't very jealous, only when the woman claimed a third dance with him. She was swept off to the dance floor by both Elladan and Elrohir, who were both taken advantage of the fact that this time around, she was not refusing.

Eventually, they found themselves together again, sitting on a bench beside the wall. There was a warm candelabra beside them on the this wall, and they were facing the musicians. Boromir looked over to her, and pushed a wayward strand of hair out of her face, and tucked it behind her ear. "I would like very much to kiss you right now, you know."

Aria smiled at him, "Then why don't you do it?"

He laughed at her forwardness, "I fear it would not be appropriate in our company, and I do not wish to draw negative attention to you. We are not formally courting or betrothed."

Aria resisted the urge to laugh at the strict customs. In her world, at a party, there would be seven couples fornicating upstairs, another dozen doing half as much in the basement, and at least two of them sucking each other's faces off on this very bench. She didn't tell him this, though, lest he think that she took part in any kind of similar behaviour. "I think you can steal one without anyone looking. Go on, give it a go." she said, teasingly.

Looking around quickly, he leaned in a placed a soft kiss on her lips. She immediately put her arm around his neck and drew him in a little deeper before letting him go.

"That was not what we agreed upon." he said, laughing. Just then, a pair of very identical twins sauntered over, clearly a little inebriated. The first lay his glass down on the bench beside the couple and looked Boromir straight in the eyes,

"That is no way to treat a lady, you brigand!" Elrohir said, trying desperately to suppress his laughter. Elladan simply winked at Aria and smiled. Legolas, hearing the commotion on the other side of the hall with his elven ears, came over to them. He promptly took the glasses of wine out of the twins' hands, and walked away again. Elrohir looked a bit like a wounded puppy after a moment, once he realized that the wine was gone, then eyed Aria's cup greedily.

"Oh, no you don't!" Boromir exclaimed, taking the cup out of Aria's hand and walking away with it. Aria frowned, and walked after him. He took the himself, and the cup, all the way outside into the small courtyard that was there. She followed him out, when she saw him standing under a kind of dais there. She smiled suspiciously, and took her cup back,

"I believe this is mine, you _brigand_." she said, smirking. He grabbed her by the waist and put her onto his lap. She nearly spilled her wine.

"I was hoping you'd follow me out here. Now I know I can lure you away with wine."

She wiggled herself into his lap a little more comfortably, and set her cup on the floor. "I do not think it was so much the wine as it was you."

He laughed, and she felt the rumbled of his deep voice in his chest. His face was close to hers now, and they were alone again. He touched his nose to hers, but made no move to come any closer. Aria closed the distance between them, and when they broke, she rested her head on his shoulder. He casually threw an arm around her waist, and they sat there like that for a while. It was a comfortable silence that didn't break until Aria yawned loudly. Boromir chuckled and lifted her off his lap, "I think it is time for bed. I know how you can get when you do not sleep properly." he said, and added, as an afterthought, "I spent nearly two months travelling with you under the influence of little sleep. I much prefer you now. I shudder to think of what you will be like on our journey to Mordor."

Aria hit his arm playfully, and feigned hurt. He kissed her temple, "My apologies, my lady."

"You really are a brigand. Shame I didn't see it early, before I let you take me captive." she added in a low voice. Boromir cocked an eyebrow at her,

"I'll show you captive..."

A second later, she found herself being carried over his shoulder like a sack of grain, and dragged off to her rooms, laughing the whole way there.

Back in the Hall of Fire, Legolas saw the exchange and the laughter, and smiled to himself.

* * *

Aria woke up the next morning feeling the affects of her partying the night before. She was not hungover, but she definitely looked as if she had been out late. Walking over to the mirror, she could see dark circles under her eyes, and her hair looked a fright. With a sigh, she pulled it up into something similar to a bun, and splashed some cold water on her face. She would bathe later, for she didn't feel like doing it now.

She decided to have a quiet, peaceful day in the library. Elrond, having been alive for thousands upon thousands of years, had a very extensive library at his, and everyone else's disposal. This was good, for Aria dearly loved to read, and hadn't appeared in Middle-Earth with any books of her own. How silly of her, she should have packed smarter.

When she finally found her way to the library, she peeked around for Lord Erestor, who would surely be there. She found him at his desk, studying a seemingly ancient text (though, all texts looked ancient to her in Middle-Earth, she was still getting used to the vellum and parchment paper. She expected everyone to be typing on laptops and printing with ink-jets). She asked him where she might be able to find some books in Common, and he directed her to a massive set of shelves over near a small fountain. She thanked him, and went there. She was peeking through what seemed like a Gondorian history section, when she saw a little pair of hairy feet dangling off the green chair near her. Looking over to the owner of these feet, she noticed that it was Bilbo. He was reading about dragons, she noticed, laughing to herself.

She picked up a tome about the Bay of Belfalas, and sat down quietly beside him. He perked up then, but only just barely. He peered at her from the corner of his eye, and looked back to his book. Aria pretended not to notice, and turned her own book upside down. She pretended to read it then, and Bilbo pretended not to notice.

They sat there for a while, both her and Bilbo pretending to read, until finally Bilbo snapped his book shut and looked over to her sharply, "Say, you're reading that book upside down!"

Aria laughed, turning the book back around, "No, I'm afraid I wasn't reading at all! I was trying to get your attention."

"You could have just said Hello!"

"I didn't want to disturb you. Besides, you looked so funny peering over me like that."

Bilbo smiled, "Who might you be, fair lady?"

Aria gave him an appreciative look, "I am Aria. I came here with Lord Boromir."

Bilbo looked a bit confused, then realization dawned on him, "You're that lass from another world, aren't you? Oh, you must tell me all about it. It sounded very interesting!"

Aria proceeded to oblige the old hobbit, and told of all the interesting and wonderful things in her world. She decided to leave out some, or most, of the bad. This hobbit had been through enough in his world, he needed not to be brought into the bad of hers as well. After some time, they were joined by four other curious little hobbits. Merry and Pippin asked millions of questions, Sam asked what kinds of foods they liked to eat there, and Frodo sat back quietly with Bilbo. She could certainly see the resemblances in their countenance then.

Realizing she had quite the audience now, she began to tell them stories from her time, and older ones. She told them of great battles and wars, and she told them of funny people and strange celebrities. She told them of books and of plays and she even told them one of Shakespeare's plays. Obviously, not by heart, but Pippin was very afraid when the "wood began to move!" in MacBeth. He said it reminded him of the trees in the Old Forest, and of Tom Bombadill.

Sometime around lunch, all of their stomachs began to growl. They paused in their story telling, and went off in search of the kitchens and some food. The hobbits seemed to know exactly where such a place was located, because they led her to it rather quickly. On their way there, they passed the training grounds, where Aria could see Boromir, Aragorn, and the twins practising their swordplay. She decided that after the last few days, she was a little out of practice, and would join them after lunch.

They ate heartily, and had a meal of sausages, biscuits, tea, and tomatoes. When they were finished, the hobbits said they were going to stick around for a second lunch of cheese and bread, and Aria dismissed herself, and was off to the training grounds. She stopped by her rooms to fetch her spear, and made her way over to the other trainees. Boromir saw her, and he let his eyes linger on her a moment longer than would be appropriate between friends. The twins grabbed her spear, tossed it away, and said that today they were teaching her how to use daggers. She sighed, but complied.

"Ouch! You didn't tell me they were sharp!" she said, holding her arm, where one of the daggers had nicked her. She peeled her hand off, and saw a bit of blood beneath it.

"It is high time you start practising with weapons that actually resemble items that could kill another creature." Elladan responded, lunging at her again. She tried to parry, but failed, and the dagger nicked her on the arm again.

By the end of the practice session, she was covered in little scrapes and scratches and small cuts. She whimpered a little bit, and she poked at the fresh one. None were very deep, but she was afraid that they would scar. She walked over to the side of the training grounds, and sat on the little hill there. Poking and prodding at her cuts, she sensed someone sit down beside her. Looking up a bit, she was it was Boromir. He took one of her arms in his hands, and ran his fingers gently over the cuts,

"I know it is necessary, but I am slightly irritated with the elf for hurting you so. Come, I will take you to the healers so they do not scar."

He lifted her up with one arm, and they walked over to the Houses of Healing, which was at the other end of Imladris, sadly. They walked in silence most of the way, then Aria began telling him about her morning with the hobbits. He laughed at their enthusiasm over hamburgers, something she had already told Boromir about. He commented on her improvements with her weapons, and how quickly she moved to dodge blows. She placed all praise on her dancing training, saying that it accounted for, almost fully, her grace and agility in battle. Boromir was happy about this, as she would be dearly missed if something were to happen to her.

When they finally reached the houses, they were given a salve to be applied twice daily. Boromir obliged in initiating the first application. He rubbed the salve onto her arm, and pressed hard. She winced, and he gave her a light kiss on the cheek,

"I am sorry, dearest, but it is the only way it is to be applied."

She nodded and motioned for him to continue with the other arm. The salve smelled faintly of herbs and honey. She knew that honey could be used as an antiseptic in more primitive times, and she she suspected that it was one of the salve's main ingredients. When they were done, Boromir rinsed his hands in a basin, and took hers in his.

"I do not think you will be practising for a few days. Do not let me catch you near the training grounds until these have mostly healed." he said sternly, squeezing her hand.

"Yes, father." she quipped. He smiled, and kissed her palm.

"I think it is nearly time for dinner. Would you like an escort?"

She nodded, and put her arm through his offered one. It was a casual dinner this time, and few of their companions even came. The hall looked much more peaceful when there were less people there, Aria noticed. They took their usual seats among the twins, Arwen and Aragorn, who were missing, but replaced by Legolas and another elf. Down the table, Aria could see a red-headed lady from Rohan eyeing her viciously. Boromir followed her gaze to the lady,

"Eru, to Mordor with her." he whispered, shaking his head. Aria laughed, and placed a deliberately obvious kiss on his cheek. She could swear that she saw steam come from the lady's ears.

"What is her name, anyway?"

"Lord Erkenbrand's daughter, I think. Lady Iorwyn." he replied, tearing off a piece of bread rather angrily. He had had quite enough of the lady's attentions. He was only thankful that Aria did not see her as some kind of threat.

"She's very pretty." Aria replied simply. Boromir could not help but roll his eyes. He knew very well of this common practice among women: fishing for compliments. He noticed a mischievous look in Aria's eyes though, and sensed that she was only jesting.

"Yes, one of the most beautiful women I know." he said, but looked into Aria's eyes instead. She blushed under his gaze,

"Hardly..." she replied, shuffling her vegetables around on her plate. Boromir smirked, and returned to his venison.

* * *

A/N: Review! Or Favourite! Or Story Alert! It's alllllll good! Sorry I got this one out so late, I had a lot of school work this week. Midterms :(


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A/N: Sorry, it's been a bit longer than usual. I'm a little busy with midterms and such. And I've been reading a million Lothiriel/Eomer fics. I think I might write one of those next. He's like, my dream man. At least, I'll write him that way :P

Just a heads up, I'm not going to spend too much time on the events of where the fellowship go, what battles they have, etc. I, personally, get very tired of reading about Caradhras in nearly every fan fiction, and seeing as this is only "sort of" and 10th walker, there won't be too much emphasis put on that. It gets dull anyway, in my opinion.

* * *

Life continued much as it had been in Rivendell. Soon, it was nearly time for the Fellowship to leave Imladris, and set off for Mordor. The thought sent chills down Aria's spine, especially when she thought of the breaking of the fellowship. She tried to push these thoughts from her head, especially when she practices with her spear. Hopefully, with some more training, she would be able to help him when he needed her most.

And so, the day came when they were to depart on the greatest journey of the age. Aria tried to gather her meagre belongings as quickly as she could, before meeting up with Boromir and heading off with the others. She was pulling on her last boot, and sat up nervously to pull her hair into a single braid. She was struggling with the end of it when she heard a soft voice from the door,

"Let me help you with that, my lady." Ethiriel said quietly, eyes gleaming with unshed tears. Aria got up quickly and held her friend to her. The elleth hugged back eagerly, and let out a small sob. "Oh, you'll go off on your adventure and you'll never return!"

Aria couldn't help but laugh, "Ethiriel, I'll be fine. Really, I will. I'm travelling with some of the best warriors in Middle-Earth...I'll be alright."

Ethiriel sniffled against Aria's shoulder. She pulled away at last, and gave her dearest friend a kiss on the cheek. Ethiriel and Aria had grown quite close in the time that Aria had spent in Imladris. She had told the elleth of everything: of her and Boromir, of the future (some of it), of her life on Earth, or everything and anything. She would miss her ever-present caregiver and best friend. Ethiriel smiled sadly at her, and went over to the door, where she bent down and picked up a basket laden with fabric and cloths.

"Here. I had these made for you. Those men may be satisfied with only having one set of clothing, but I will not let you leave with only the clothes on your back." she said primly, and plopped the basket onto the bed. Aria beamed and bent over to see the contents of the basket. Inside, she found the softest leather boots she had ever felt, lined with a bit of fur. She looked down at the worn boots that Boromir had bought for her in Dol Baran, and she kicked them off quickly. Next, she found a soft linen tunic and a heavier over-vest.

"It will not always be warm." Ethiriel said, practically. Aria smiled and thanked her, and thought of Caradhras. Under the vest was a pair of thick cotton leggings, and a long overcoat of leather and wool. Ethiriel had thought to include a belt, complete with extra loopholes for a small pouch made of leather.

"What is in here?" Aria asked her friend, pulling on the draw strings. Ethiriel took the pouch from her and opened it. Inside was a small scroll, tied with a simple piece of twine, and a small stone carving of a white flower. "What are these?"

Ethiriel smiled, "This,"she said, holding up the scroll, "is a letter to someone very dear to me. His name is Lairion, I wrote it on the scroll for you. If you ever go to Lórien, for you said you would, I ask you to give this to him. It would mean very much to me. And this," she said, holding up the small carving, "is Elanor. It is the flower that grows in Lórien. My mother gave it to me when she sailed to the West to protect me and bring me lucky. It has done so, and now I give it to you. May it bring you the same fortune."

Aria hugged her tightly, "I will do this for you. Thank you so much. This means so much to me."

"You're welcome, mellon." she smiled back at her, "Now go, the fellowship cannot depart without you."

Aria nodded, and pulled on her new boots. She relished in the comfort of them, and packed up her old ones and the new clothes. They made her pack heavier, but she knew she would be thankful later on. Besides, she had seen Legolas's bag, and she knew for a fact that she had packed lightly. Looking back at her old room, she walked out the door, and shut it behind her. Looking forward, she heard a door open. Boromir stepped out of the room down the hall from hers. He smiled at her, and held out his hand. She walked over to him and took it, lightly. He gave her hand a squeeze, and they began walking forward to the dais where they were all to meet.

Boromir let go of her hand when they got there, a practice they had began when it occurred to them that since they were not officially courting, and it would seem odd to the people of Gondor visiting Imladris. However, they stood side by side, both tall and quiet against the cool breeze that was the only sign that winter was approaching. Legolas and Gimli were both there now, and Frodo and Sam. Gandalf was sitting calmly on a bench nearby, smoking some pipe weed and grumbling about something. It appeared that they waited on Aragorn and the two other hobbits.

Finally the rest of them arrived, and Elrond came up to them. He wished them a safe journey, and bestowed upon them some small gifts. Aria got a light, but balanced and strong spear,

"I hear you have been practising. I hope this furthers your progress." he said, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Some advice for you, before you leave. Do not let your knowledge change what is in your heart, for your heart can change what you know."

He gave her a wink and a fatherly smile, before he set them off at last. They all waited for Frodo to go ahead, and the hobbit turned around to Gandalf,

"Mordor, Gandalf...is it left or right?" he asked unsure of himself. Gandalf chuckled,

"Left!" he whispered hastily.

* * *

The first few hours were as uneventful as Aria remembered when reading about them. Very little happened: the hobbits complained that they were hungry, Aragorn stopped to sniff the ground a few dozen times, Gimli talked about malt beer and salted pork, which in turn, made the hobbits complain more. Legolas and Boromir discussed the different ways to properly sharpen a sword, and Aria hummed a familiar tune to herself. Gandalf was at the front of the company, muttering to himself about why the elves couldn't make proper roads coming to and from Rivendell like the rest of Middle-Earth. After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped for lunch, which was meagre, much to the hobbits' disappointment.

"Do not worry, it gets much easier after the first few days." said Boromir to Aria, handing her a piece of bread and a small chunk of cured meat. She took it gladly and stuffed the meat in her mouth. She had been starving for what seemed like hours. She'd forgotten to eat breakfast before they left. Boromir eyed her and raised an eyebrow. Aria chewed slowly and shrugged,

"I forgot to eat breakfast."

"The hobbits ate three breakfasts, you know." he responded, laughing a little to himself. They sat for a while, resting their feet, and then they were off again.

* * *

Caradhras was exactly how she remembered it in the films: cold and snowy. Her new winter boots weren't serving her here as well as she would have liked them, and she watched Legolas prance around on top of the snow. In his defence, there really wasn't much he could have done about it, but still, it upset her cold feet to see him atop the mounds of snow, dry and warm.

She turned around quickly, seeing Frodo fall in the snow. Aria sighed audibly, and Aragorn threw her an annoyed look. Aria hadn't sighed at Frodo's falling, but rather what she knew would happen next. She looked over to Boromir, who was bent over the snow, staring at the ring, glinting in the harsh sunlight reflected off the snow.

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing." he said, holding the ring in his hand. Everyone seemed to eye him cautiously, and Aria had a look of pain on her face that did not go unnoticed. Boromir held the run up to the light, "Such a little thing."

"Boromir, give the ring to Frodo." said Aragorn, with a hand on the hilt of his sword. Aria looked at Boromir, who looked back at her a smiled nervously. He went over to Frodo and handed him the ring,

"Very well. I care not." he ruffled the hobbit's hair and stood beside Aria. "Tell me of another song from your world, Aria. Perhaps it will get my mind off this blasted cold."

Aria smiled at him, but it was less sincere than usual. She had expected this, but not in this way. Seeing the effects of the ring in real life was not the same as watching it on a screen. The look she had seen on Boromir's face was unfamiliar to her, and she hoped it stayed that way. She had a sneaking suspicion that the cold was not her love's greatest worry, but rather the shadow that he knew was growing in his mind. Still, she complied.

"There's an old song I haven't been able to get out of my head for days now." she replied, squishing her feet around in the snow, "It's about a General –a Captain– who died in battle. It's the song his men sang for him."

She cleared her throat and began to sing it. She didn't mind so much now, as it wasn't really a song that required a lot of skill to sing. It was a drinking sort of song, but it reminded her of home.

"Well General Taylor gained the day  
Walk him along, John, Carry him along  
Well General Taylor he gained the day  
Carry him to his bury'n ground

Tell me way, hey, you stormy  
Walk him along, John, carry him along  
Tell me way, hey, you stormy  
Carry him to his bury'n ground

We'll dig his grave with a silver spade  
Walk him along, John, Carry him along  
His shroud of the finest silk will be made  
Carry him to his bury'n ground."

When she had finished, Gimli piped up, "A fine song, lass. A fine tale indeed."

She smiled at the dwarf in thanks, and patted Boromir softly on the arm before jogging ahead to talk to Merry and Pippin.

* * *

A booming voice could be heard on the air. Aria looked around in panic before she felt a weight of snow fall onto her shoulders and crush her to the ground. She tried to push through it, but more snow came. When it stopped, she pulled herself up and looked around. Pushing herself up as far as she could, she helped the others get the hobbits out of the snow.

"We must make for the Gap of Rohan, then take the west road to my city!" she heard Boromir yell.

She vaguely heard other voices before Frodo finally spoke up beside her, "We will go through the mines."

"So be it." said Gandalf.

Aria shuddered at the though of the mines. Everything had become so much more real to her now, and though she knew what to expect, she was terrified of what it all would actually be like.

* * *

Two days later, the fellowship reached the West Gate of Moria. Aria snickered to herself watching Gandalf struggle at guessing the password. She walked over to Merry and Pippin who were tossing pebbles and stone into the lake behind them. She saw Aragorn look back at them, and make to go over but she stopped him.

"Don't throw anything into the water. You wouldn't want to disturb anything inside." she said, stopping Merry's hand from throwing another rock. He looked at her with confusion, then realization dawned on his face. He glanced warily back at the pool, and moved away quickly.

"Mellon." she heard Gandalf say clearly, and the doors began to open. Everyone made their way into the mines. Unlike the rest of the fellowship, Aria stood face the opposite direction poised for battle.

The fellowship looked around shiftily. Aria's eyes met Boromir's then, and he looked worried as well. Gimli, on the other hand, did not. Gimli looked to Legolas then, a cheerful smile on his face,

"Soon Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves. Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone." he said, rubbing his stomach hungrily. Aria could swear she saw Pippin's eyes glaze over. "And they call it a mine! A mine!"

Boromir looked around cautiously, "This is no mine," he said, softly nudging a piled of bones with his boot, "It's a tomb."

Legolas pulled an arrow out of the skeleton of a deceased dwarf. "Goblins." he spat, just as Gimli let out a pained cry. Boromir looked at the bodies strewn around them,

"We should never have come here. We make for the Gap of Rohan." he said, motioning for them to leave quickly. "Now get out of here, get out!"

When the giant tentacle soared out of the water and grabbed Frodo, Aria was ready. She yelled and charged at it with her spear. Legolas shot at the Watcher and the rest of them stabbed wildly at it.

The rest of the company moved quickly now, to get Frodo safely into the mines. When they reached the doors, they pulled them shut quickly. It grew silent, then. Aria heard Gandalf's staff knocking on the floor, and then the space was filled with a dim, grey light.

"We have but one choice," Gandalf said looking around," We must now face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard, there a darker and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the earth. It's a four day journey to the other side, let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed."

* * *

"You should eat something." Boromir whispered to Aria, and nudged a cup of broth at her. She shook her head quietly.

"Not right now."

Boromir looked at her worriedly. He lay down his cup, and pulled her up by the elbow. He placed his hand on the small of her back, and pulled her away from where the fellowship were sitting around the small cooking fire. She ran a shaky hand through her hair, and remained silent.

"Aria, what is wrong? You have barely spoken or eaten for two days." he said to her, running his fingertips over her cheek. He bent his head low to speak to her quietly.

"It's these mines. I knew of all of this before hand, but I never expected it to be this way. It's so different than what I expect, and so much darker. Nothing like this exists where I'm from." she said quietly, looking around them at the dark mines.

"You are afraid?" he asked, pulling her a little closer to him. She nodded,

"Yes and no. Not afraid of what might happen, but this place gives me this frightened feeling."

He pulled her into an embrace, and stroked her hair quietly. She breathed in his scent. He smelled of leather and wood smoke from the fire, and there was also the distinctly 'Boromir' smell that she couldn't place. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and squeezed him close. He pulled away only for a moment to draw her head up to his, where they met in a kiss. She sighed into him, and he deepened the kiss only briefly, before pulling away, conscious of their proximity to the rest of the fellowship.

"I hope that was a pleasant enough distraction for you." he whispered into her ear, sending light shivers down her spine. She laughed softly, and gave him a peck on the cheek. Her took her hand in his, and they walked back over to the fire.

Sam looked at Boromir and grumbled to himself, shaking his head. Aria giggled. Sam, for some reason, couldn't hold with the idea of Boromir and Aria together. She drank the broth now, and Boromir sat down beside her, and casually threw his cloak around her shoulders. Hers was still damp from being rolled up after their fight with the Watcher.

That night, when they unrolled their cloaks to lay down to sleep, Boromir lay down in the dark behind Aria, and pulled his cloak over the both of them, "I will rest with you tonight, you have no reason to fear the darkness when I am here."

She kissed him softly before drifting off into a strained sleep, but it was still better than any other night she had slept since they left Rivendell. She knew what was lying ahead of them in the mines, and she was glad it was still a day away from them.

* * *

She woke the next morning (she assumed, based on the fact that Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Gandalf were also up, not because she could actually tell in the dark if it was morning) and Boromir was still sleeping behind her. His arm was draped across her waist, and one hand was holding her protectively. She had yet to open her eyes, and held them shut for a moment, savouring the moment. After a few moments, she could hear the rest of the fellowship getting up a ways away from them, and she could hear Boromir stirring behind her.

When he woke up, he pulled her closer, and buried his head in her hair. She smiled, and turned around to face him.

"Good morning." she whispered. He groaned,

"Morning? How in Elbereth's name can you tell in this place?" he asked before sitting up. She sat up, too, cross-legged and facing him.

"I'm not sure. Gimli says he can tell right away when it's morning in the mines, though I suspect he's had more practice."

Aria shook off her cloak, which was dry now, and threw it around her back. Boromir did the same, and they began to pack up their things. Boromir went off to talk to Aragorn about their journey for the day, and Aria decided to spend some time alone while she ate some of the bread recently handed to her by Frodo.

After a while, they had finished packing up their things, and covered up the traces of their being there, should they be followed.

Somewhere, at sometime, Gandalf decided that they were lost. They appeared to walk around aimlessly for hours, following the staircases and passages deeper into the darkness. Gimli did not know where to go, and all memory Gandalf had of Moria seemed to be lost. At great length, he finally exclaimed, "Oh! It's that way."

Aria laughed as Gandalf told Merry that "when in doubt, follow your nose." and they set off in the direction of Dwarrowdelf. The dwarven city was majestic at the very least. Its gleaming columns and pillars stretched so high, that Aria thought they must reach all the way to the tip of the mountain. The walls of the cavern were dark but not as ominous as the rest of the mines. Aria found herself dumbstruck by the dwarven construction, and stared open mouthed at its grandeur.

"There's an eye-opener, make no mistake." said Sam, in complete awe. What struck them most of all was how empty the grand, dark hall was. They walked through the ancient hall, going deeper into its depths, until they reached a smaller room. A stream of moonlight from outside shone into the cavern, right over top of what looked like a tomb.

"No!" Gimli cried before running wildly into the room. The rest of the fellowship followed, and Gandalf read the epitaph on the tomb. Balin's tomb was covered in dust an debris, and the scattered remains of a great battle fought were strewn across the room and throughout the hall. The sound of Gimli's grief echoed between and around the massive pillars, and Gandalf read from the final logs of Dwarrowdelf.

"Drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming."

Everything was silent then, until a clatter rang through the room and echoed in the halls. Pippin looked down, sheepishly. Moments later, Legolas cried out,

"Orcs!"

"Get back! Stay close to Gandalf!" Aragorn shouted to the hobbits. Aria readied her spear, and stood at battle stance. Boromir was running towards the door, barring it shut with the help of Aragorn. He came back and stood beside her, holding his sword with both hands. They waited there, until finally, a loud pounding could be heard at the door. Aria eyes grew wide when she saw the door splinter and break, and arrows being shot at them from outside. The door was ripped open and from the other side, a massive cave troll barrelled in.

"They have a cave troll." Boromir said dryly, gripping his sword a little harder.

The goblins began to pour in then, and Aria found herself in the midst of battle, stabbing away and throwing her spear at goblins. She parted with her main weapon for a while, after it skewered her opponent across the room. As quickly as she could, she pulled a small dagger out of her boot, and turned around quick enough to dig it deep into the goblin coming at her from behind.

Nearby, Boromir was trying to protect the hobbits while still keeping a careful eye on Aria. He saw her spin around and stab at a goblin with her boot dagger. Despite the mess of battle, she turned and spun quite gracefully on the floor slippery with blood and grime.

From the corner of her eye, Aria could see Frodo's small body being carried off with the giant pillar that was torn from the floor by the troll. Aria looked around her, and took aim with her spear, straight for the troll's back. She fired it at the beast, narrowly missing a vital area, and the spear embedded itself into the troll's side. Yelling in pain, the troll turned around and headed straight for the young woman.

Legolas fired two arrows at the troll's face then, in an attempt to stop it from going after Aria. The troll, wounded and stumbling, turned towards Frodo and rammed a giant stake into Frodo's stomach. Frodo gasped, and lost his breath.

With only a few goblins left, and the cave troll nearly finished, the fellowship cleared off whatever of their enemy was left. Finishing off the last goblin, Aragorn ran to Frodo. Moving the stake away from the hobbit, Frodo coughed and tried to regain his breath, but seemed intact.

"That spear would have skewered a wild boar!" Aragorn exclaimed. Gandalf smiled,

"I think there is more to this hobbit than meets the eye." he said, gesturing to Frodo's vest of Mithril.

They paused only for a moment, before more screeches could be heard. Pulling Frodo up by the arm, Aria ran after the others away from the smaller room, and towards the Bridge of Khazad-Dum.

Chased by orcs, they ran quickly towards the bridge that would lead them out of the mines. As they approached the thin bridge, a bellowing roar could be heard from below them. The orcs and goblins following them seemed to scatter by the time the second beastial roar was heard from the deeps of the mines. A red glow drew nearer, and Gandalf looked back in fear.

"What is this new devilry?" Boromir exclaimed, pulling the hobbits further out of harm's way.

"A balrog of Morgoth. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!" Gandalf exclaimed. Boromir raced ahead, Legolas, Gimli and all the hobbits but Frodo in tow. Aria, unafraid for Gandalf, but acutely aware of the dangers of the Balrog, ran quickly towards the bridge. As they approach the bridge, Aria sees Gandalf stop in the middle. In front of her, Boromir and the others are tossing hobbits to the other side, and Aria runs after them, looking over her shoulder at Gandalf.

Aria leaped across the gap, onto the other side, and was caught by Aragorn. Looking back at Gandalf, she caught his confrontation with the balrog just before she heard him yell his most iconic line,

"You shall not pass!" the wizard yelled, thrusting his staff into the ground below him, sending a wave of vibrations throughout the chasm. The balrog took a step forward, and the bridge collapsed underneath him. Gandalf caught onto the ragged edge of the broken bridge,

"Fly, you fools!" he said hastily, before the balrog's giant whip snapped up and pulled Gandalf into the dark depths beneath them.

Aria could hear the cries of the fellowship as Gandalf plummeted further into the dark. She pushed them forward and out of the mines, dodging arrows as she fled to the outdoors.

* * *

Outside, the hobbits cried for the loss of their friend, and Aria wiped the dark blood from her weapons. She began to rouse the hobbits from their grief, helping Aragorn to get them up.

"Give them a moment for pity's sake!" Boromir exclaimed, holding his head in his hands.

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs!" Aragorn responded, helping Sam up.

Aria walked down the side of the mountain in silence. Boromir came over to walk beside her. He saw no traces of grief on her face, but could sense that she was troubled anyhow. He walked silently beside her for some time. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder,

"You knew of this?" he asked simply. Aria nodded at him, and continue forward, following Aragorn towards Lothlorien.

It was at this moment that Boromir truly understood the depth of Aria's knowledge, and how much it would come to pain her in the future. He resolved to help her bear this burden as long as he was able to.

A/N: Yeah so, when I said I didn't wanna spend a bunch of time with the fellowship doing stuff we already knew they were gonna do, I meant I was getting it over with in like, one chapter. Hopefully it wasn't too boring, and yes, I realized I rearranged some of the dialogue, so don't kill me lol. It flowed better in my story this way, I think. The next chapter will be more interesting, I promise :)

Btw, that song, is called General Taylor by Great Big Sea, and amazing traditional Canadian band that I love. I was listening to it when I decided to include it lol. I know it's random :P Review! Because I love you!


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A/N: I AM alive! I know it's been a while, I'm sorry. Same old story, school, etc. I won't keep you waiting then. Hopefully this chapter is more exciting than the last :)

* * *

It was not long before they made it to the Golden Wood. Well, that is to say, not long by the standards of their trip thus far. It was still a two-day journey to the fabled woods. They travelled in silence, mostly, only speaking when necessary. It was clear that they were all in thought, most of them grieving over the loss of Gandalf. There was one, however, who was not thinking of Gandalf, per se, but rather, thinking of a strange young woman.

Boromir thought of Aria throughout their journey to Lothlorien. She had known that Gandalf would fall, that much was clear to him, just as she had known of his fate. She had told him that perhaps things had change since her coming to Middle-Earth, and perhaps she would be able to save him. But, she had not been able to save the wizard, and perhaps she would not be able to save him.

These thoughts floated through Boromir's head as he stepped along side Aria. He glanced at her every now and then, peeking at the expression on her face. She looked forlorn, as always. He longed to find a way to make her feel better, to hold her, or to console her, but he knew well enough that there was nothing he could do to change the situation. He vowed to himself to be her pillar of strength through this, to pull them out of it together.

He thought of their future together. He knew not how long she would stay with him, or whether or not he would be alive long enough to have a proper future with her, but thinking of it gave him the hope he longed for along this dark journey. He could only hope that they would all survive it, to make his vision of the future come true. He mused to himself ideas of him and Aria, sitting by the fire in the Citadel of Minas Tirith. Or riding together outside the city walls, or reading the Ballad of Gil-Galad at night in a warm, soft bed together.

The image of the bed remained with him longer than he planned, bringing up thoughts of warm covers, feathery mattresses, lush pillows and soft skin. If he could have, he would surely have blushed then. He looked over to his lady, who was completely oblivious to his impure thoughts of her, and and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with a tired expression, and smiled sadly, placing her hand over his. She held his hand there, and squeezed it lightly. He pulled her to him, and walked with his arm securely around her shoulders. She leaned into his embrace, and he could feel all of her exhaustion. He reminded himself that she had never been on a journey such as this one before, nor had she been very well prepared for it. He sighed, and held her to him. She rested her head on his chest as they walked. He knew they must be approaching the forest, as Aragorn looked in much higher spirits than he had before, and Gimli looked much more wary and seemed to grumble more.

They were trekking up a great hill now, and Boromir silently helped Aria along by pushing her, and letting her weight rest on him. When they came to the top, he caught a glimpse of great golden trees,

"Those are mallorn trees. They surround and protect the city, shrouding it from evil. Come, we are nearly there." said Aragorn, picking up the pace.

Boromir looked down at Aria and smiled, "Baths await, dearest."

She smiled silently and kissed the palm of his hand. Her lips were soft against his calloused palms, but he felt the tingle of her touch for moments afterwards. As they approached the woods, Boromir felt both relieved and wary. The crossed the threshold into the forest, and they were almost immediately stopped by a group of wardens. They seemed to have come from both the ground and the trees. They eyed the group carefully, especially Gimli, but looked relieved to see both Legolas and Aragorn. The leader and Aragorn exchanged some seemingly friendly greeting, and Legolas demonstrated the traditional elvish greeting.

They had nothing to do but wait while Aragorn and the leader, who they learned was named Haldir, deliberated.

"We will take you the city, but you must travel blindfolded. The way to the Golden City is secret to those who do not dwell here. It has been many years since a dwarf has been allowed in Lórien." Haldir said, looking at Gimli with some disdain. Gimli grumbled and protested, as did Legolas. He was kin to these people, and did not feel that he should be blindfolded upon entering a realm that he was free to be in. In the end, it was decided that all the companions would be lead into the city blindfolded, as was fair.

Aria was being guided by one of Haldir's brothers, Orophin, she thought she remembered him saying. He placed his hands on her shoulders, and led her through the forest, over rope bridges, avoiding rocks, roots and shrubs. All in all, he was a good guide. Along the way, Haldir received word that the Fellowship was to be allowed to remove the blindfolds, and they were welcome in Lothlorien. Orophin was kinder then, making small conversation with her as they walked. They spoke only idly, and very sparingly. She knew that he must be on the watch for enemies, but he seemed to relax noticeably at a certain point.

"We are on the outskirts of Caras Galadhon, the heart of elvendom on earth, and the home of Lord Celeborn, and Galadriel, Lady of Light." Haldir announced fondly, looking at the great city in the morning sunlight. Aria looked over Orophin's shoulder and her breath hitched in her throat when she look upon the great city. It seemed alight with gold and silver and brightness, and it warmed her heart to see it. Yet, it had a kind of old sadness about it, like the dull pang of some terrible memory. She looked to Orophin, who had a similar expression on his face. Aria thought of the elves then, and their love of the sea, and the bitter-sweet happiness they must have towards their home. Love of their homeland, and the love of the sea, conflicting in their hearts, mingling with the fear of the coming darkness. It was sad, but the resilient elves gave her hope, nonetheless.

Their appearance in the city was met with some curiosity by the elves living there, and gained them many wary looks. Gimli, especially, was looked upon with not small amount of disdain, and an enormous amount of caution. However, it was clear to all that they were welcome in the Golden Wood, as they were un-blindfolded, and being led directly to the Lady's receiving chamber.

They climbed the stairs of the massive mallorn trees, that appeared to grow right out of the trees themselves. It was unlike anything Aria had ever seen, and certain unlike the films. It was similar, but so much more grand and organic. Everything seemed to flow together, from what Aria could only imagine was several millennia of work and thought. They climbed the tedious stairs, Aragorn and Legolas with ease, everyone else huffing and puffing once they reached the top. Aria held her side when she got to the top step, and Aragorn smirked at her as if to say 'someone has been eating more than her share of the rations'. They were asked by Galadriel's sentinels to wait outside until summoned.

_Aria. _

Aria blinked furiously.

_Long have I awaited your coming. Your presence here interests me greatly. When I am done speaking to your company, please stay. There are many things I wish to ask you of. _

Aria shook her head violently, which elicited a snigger from Aragorn, and a sympathetic look from Boromir.

_I know my ways are strange to you, but do not fear, I will not read what I have not the right to. Come, inside. _

Aria stepped forward then, and reached to open the door. The sentinels moved away, allowing her to pass. She pushed the grand doors open, and at the foot of a staircase, stood Galadriel and Celeborn.

"Welcome. Long have we awaited your coming." greeted the Lady, stepping down the stairs. Celeborn with her. She spoke of their journey, and of their trials. Celeborn asked after Gandalf, to which the fellowship were forced to explain his fall and his battle with the Balrog.

_I see what you know, though I do not wish to. Do no think of such things in my presence, it is important that you shut out these thoughts. You have revealed too much to me already. _

Aria thought some kind of apology, and tried to focus on something else. Her eyes went to Boromir as the Lady and Celeborn spoke to them. He looked pained, and Aria was sure of what he was thinking, or rather, what the Lady of Light was making him think. She was momentarily angry, but it quickly dissipated.

_Do not be upset. I show him these things only to strengthen his will. You have done much for him, this I know. He remains strong because of you. Do not give up, have faith in your own strength. _

Aria nodded, silently. Turning towards Boromir, she smiled slowly, comfortingly. He did not return her smile, but the look in his eyes suggested appreciation. She would speak with him later, and try to quell some of his fears.

"You are weary from much toil. You will sleep in peace tonight." Galadriel finished, with a smile. She gestured for two of the sentinels to ready talans for them to rest in.

"Come, now, gentlemen. I am sure you could all use something warm and potent in your hearts tonight. I think we have some miruvor in the kitchens. We shall leave the ladies to confer." said Celeborn, gesturing them towards the door. Boromir nodded, but waited for Aria. She went to him, and placed a careful, chaste kiss on his cheek.

"I'll come to you later, don't worry." she said quietly. He nodded, and squeezed her side, before exiting the chamber.

"Come, Aria, sit. I will not have you standing any longer. I saw the way you leaned on Boromir, I would have you rest now." said Galadriel, pulling up a comfortable looking chair. Almost immediately, two elleths came in, and brought them a sweet smelling tea and dish of fruit. Aria eyed the fruit hungrily, and the lady pushed the dish towards her, "Do not worry, I asked for it only for you. I am not hungry."

"Thank you." Aria responded simply, before biting into a fruit that resembled a sweet fig. She chewed happily as the Lady asked her simple questions about her world, and how she came to know of the books and movies. Aria explained it honestly, with as many details as she could provide. Galadriel seemed the understand when Aria could not go into detail, and did not push her for information.

"Well, Aria, I can offer you little advice, for you know more than I. I can only tell you that this journey may take you down many paths, but you must know your heart. Challenges may arise, and you will have to be ready to meet them. My mirror has told me many things. Your part in this fellowship will soon come to an end, if the mirror is true. But you will still have many tasks ahead of you."

Aria nodded in understanding. She wanted desperately to ask the lady about Boromir, and what to do, but she knew that she couldn't. She had to trust her heart, and her heart told her to wait it out. All this heart business seemed beyond silly to her, and she really had trouble simply trusting her instincts, but she knew she couldn't ask.

"Now, enough of this talk. I wish to hear about Boromir." Galadriel said, with a twinkle in her eye. Aria blushed furiously, "Ah, so that is how it is. I see."

Aria swallowed thoughtfully. "I don't even know how it happened."

"Oh, I think I do." the lady responded, smiling. "What I said remains true. Your presence keeps him strong. You know of what I speak. The spell will break soon, because of you. This is something to hope for, I think."

"You think I'll be able to help him?" asked Aria. The lady nodded.

"You would be surprised how distracting a pretty young woman can be. The only thing as powerful as hate and greed is love and devotion."

"I'm glad to hear it. I've been worried sick over it."

"You are a lucky woman, Aria. I'm sure there is no shortage of ladies in Gondor who would wring your neck for taking their chances at become Lord Boromir's wife."

Aria looked shocked, frightened, joyous and embarrassed all at once then. Galadriel laughed, and the sound of it echoed through the chamber, like the ringing of silver bells. Aria couldn't help but smile, "I see you have no thought of this yet. I should inform you then, that it is unlikely that Boromir will not consider you becoming his bride. You are not of noble blood, this is true, but your position in the fellowship grants you some position, to be sure.

"Of course, this is all depending..." she trailed off, and her eyes grew darker. Aria wanted to say something, but forced a gulp of the flowery tea down instead, clamping her mouth shut. They talked of Boromir some more, and Aria told her of their travels together. Galadriel, she was surprised to learn, was not so different than any other female. She cooed over Boromir and Aria's softer moments, and listened intently when Aria told her of their battles. After what seemed like an eternity, Aria began to yawn.

"Your exertions are catching up with you, I see. Go now, and find your lord. No doubt he has been waiting for you. I will see you in the morrow. Sleep well, Lady Aria."

* * *

"Boromir?" Aria asked quietly, aloud, knocking on the door of the talan that she was told was his. There was no answer, so she tried again, louder this time, "Boromir? Are you there?"

Suddenly, from inside, she heard rustling, a thud, and a quiet curse. Arching an eyebrow, she made the open the door herself. Just as her hand clasped itself around the door handle, the door swung open, pulling her forward violently, and making her lose her balance. She tumbled into a heap, knocking over Boromir, and landing flat on top of him in a jumble of legs and arms. Groaning, she made to get up, but strong arms kept her close. She freed an arm from under his, and rubbed her head where it had collided with the floor.

"Poor sweet, did your head become acquainted with the floor?" Boromir asked quietly, running a damp hand over her forehead. She winced as his fingertips came into contact with what she was sure would become a bruise. He removed her hand from her head, and laid a soft kiss on her palm. She noticed then, that he was damp, and his hair was very wet.

"You're wet." she said simply, toying with some of the soft hair at his temple. He smiled,

"I was bathing when you called. I had not the time to finish."

"Oh," she said, running her hands through his damp hair. It felt so different now that it was clean. It was so dark, she noticed, that the light from the candles in the room seemed to reflect off of it in places. "I could have come back later..."

He shook his head and put his hand on the back of her neck, drawing her face closer to his, "I would not have you come back later. It seems like forever since last we were alone."

She smiled, and kissed him softly, meaning to pull back after a moment. He was not to be deterred, however, and deepened their kiss. She sighed into him, and allowed him to pull her closer, pressing their torsos together. She wrapped her one arm around his neck, and the other around his back and held him to her, playing with the damp hair at the back of his head. Taking her by the waist, he lifted her off the floor and into his lap, with her legs across his knee. His tongue slid past her lips softly, and he closed whatever space was left between them.

Moments later, he pulled away slowly, his breathing much more ragged than before. She smiled at him, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"That is hardly appropriate behaviour for a nobleman, my lord." she said into his head, making him shiver in his damp clothes. By way of response, he captured her in another passionate, but much shorter kiss.

"This nobleman has enough power to decided what is appropriate and what is not, my lady." he responded, nuzzling her head with his. She squirmed as his hair tickled her neck, and he laughed lightly. He pulled her up off of him, and led her to the small sitting area a ways away. There was a covered tray of food there, "Have you eaten?"

She nodded, sitting in the chair across from him, "Yes, I had some fruit with the lady, earlier." he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Fruit is hardly a meal. Come, eat, I will not have you wither away on me. I intend to keep you around for some time, yet." he said with a wink, dishing some kind of roasted bird onto a plate with a roll of bread, and pushing it towards her, "I will eat when you are finished. You have been exhausted for days. I can last until you are finished."

Aria looked at him with an unsure expression, and then at the food with a hungry expression. He smiled, and handed her a fork. She ate fervently, practically inhaling it, and barely tasting it. Boromir found it difficult to suppress his laughter,

"My, we are a hungry girl, aren't we?" he said, earning him a slap on the hand, and a sheepish smile from Aria. He feigned hurt, and cradled his 'wounded' hand close to his chest, "You wound me, my love."

"My apologies, good sir. I shall offer you recompense for this violent action. What would my lord ask of me?" she responded playfully. He pretended to look pensive, stroking his scruffy face with his thumb and forefinger.

"Yes, I think that shall do. Hmm...perhaps a kiss from the fairest maiden in all of Arda." he said matter-of-factly. Aria smiled,

"I'm sorry, but I think Lady Arwen is a little far away at this point, Boromir."

He smiled, "Nay, the Evenstar is lovely indeed, but not so lovely to me as another maiden from a far-off land."

Aria raised a sceptical eyebrow at him, "You don't need to flatter me, Boromir, I do have eyes you know. I know I'm not as pretty as she is, but I'm alright with that." she said with a laugh. She handed him the plate and he held it as she put some more food on it for him. He ate, talking only sparingly, to save her from having to see the half-masticated food in his mouth.

"I would have you meet my brother. He would tell you that you are by far the loveliest woman in my acquaintance." he said, after swallowing.

"I think that will change sooner than you think. Faramir will not think I'm so pretty in a couple of months. His attentions will definitely be elsewhere." she responded, sipping some of the wine Boromir had poured for her earlier. He raised his eyebrows at her, and his face broke out into a happy smile.

"So, Faramir will meet someone, then? Who is she?"

"I can't tell you that! But, I promise you would approve. There is hardly any way not to." she said, smiling.

"If she brings my brother joy, I would not complain if she was a cave troll." he responded, polishing off his meal. "It has been a long time since Faramir was truly happy. He spends all of his time in Ithilien with his rangers, to keep out of sight of father."

"Out of sight, out of mind." Aria recited, darkly. Boromir nodded,

"It is well, though. I would not have father think of Faramir too oft. Such things only bring Faramir more impossible tasks, and less recognition" he said sadly, taking a gulp of the wine. Aria gave him a sympathetic look. He shrugged, "There is not a lot that I can do for him here in Lothlorien. Let us speak of something more joyful. Did the lady tell you how long we are to rest in the city?"

"Yes, she said we must stay a month, at least. It would be unwise to continue on while we are so weary and sad." she responded. "I want you to rest, Boromir. I don't want to see you on the archery range, the practice ring, in a patrol group, or out of my sight for at least three days."

"It is not I that needs so much rest, but you! My mind is more at ease here, and less at ease in other ways. I feel not the pains of our journey, but I fear for the future of my people. Do you know of what the Lady said to me in my mind?" he said quietly, bowing his head. Aria got up and knelt beside him.

"Yes, I know. Don't worry, Boromir. You will see what is to happen in time. Gondor will suffer much, yes, but not without good reason. You will be proud of your people, I promise." she said, taking his hands in hers. He looked down at her, and squeezed her hands.

"I hope your knowledge is not wrong in this, Aria. I will have no more suffering befall my people." he said grimly, kissing her hand.

She stood up and walked over to the large door that was open, leading to the back balcony of the small talan. She stood on the edge, elbows resting on the railing made of vines and gnarled branches, circling the entire talan. She looked up at the boughs of the trees, and could see the stars gleaming in the sky between the pockets of trees. The trees themselves seemed to reach up as far as the heavens, grazing the stars with their soft golden leaves.

A strong arm circled its way around her waist, and another around her from the other side. She felt herself being pulled into his chest, and held there, with his bowed beside her ear. He stood there quietly, and she could feel his breaths on her neck, and the rise and fall of his chest. She turned her head up at him, her nose nearly touching his.

"I wish," he whispered slowly to her, "that you could see yourself the way I do, Aria. You are completely unaware of what you have done to me, my love. I fear I shall never be the same again."

She kissed him softly, speaking into his lips, "I wish only that I knew that it could last forever. For all my knowledge, you are the only thing I am unsure of."

"And why are you so unsure? I think, if there is one thing that you may be sure of, it is that I will be with you to any end." he said, running his hand over her neck, and turning her towards him more. She held him tightly, resting her head against his, their noses touching.

"I love you." she said quietly, kissing him. He pulled her closer, and held her tight against him, placing a kiss on her temple.

"Then that is something to be sure of."

Aria was both in utter bliss, and utterly terrified. She had complicated things greatly, she knew, but saying it out loud did nothing to change the fact that it had been in her heart for weeks. Boromir seemed natural to her, as natural as both a clear starry night, and a violent electrical storm.

* * *

A/N: So, that's it for now. Things seemed to have calmed down a bit with school, so hopefully I'll be able to update more often now. I hope this was satisfactory :P I tried to make it a bit fluffier, since the last chapter was lacking. As always, if you liked it, please take the time to review it!


	11. Chapter 10

Time passed all too quickly in Lothlorien. As the fellowship grew accustomed to the days of relaxation and rest, Aria grew more and more concerned about the nearness of their departure. They would not leave for another week, at least. Frodo had not yet seen Galadriel's mirror, she was sure, and so she knew they still had time.

In her talan, Aria was thinking of mending one of her tunics. It had been slashed by an orc arrow in Moria, and sported a large gash on its side. She dug into her pack, searching for her mending kit. Her hands closed around the mending kit, and her fingertips brushed a small, squished scroll of parchment. She dropped the mending kit on her bed, and reached back into her bag, pulling out the scroll and the attached trinket. She thought of Ethiriel, her dear handmaiden from Rivendell, and wished her friend was with her now. She was about to unravel the scroll, but stopped herself. It was not for her to read, but her friend. She turned the scroll and saw small, neat tengwar script etched in black ink on the side. She could not read the beautiful writing, and could not remember whom the letter was for.

Deciding that her mending could wait, she pulled on her boots and left her talan, letter in hand. She was met outside by a gust of wind that blew straight through her thin linen shirt. She buttoned it up a bit higher, right above her breast. She thought to unroll her sleeves, but decided against it. She would not be out long. Wishing she had worn warmer leggings, she set off to find Aragorn. He would surely be able to read the name on the letter.

Aragorn's talan was not far from her own, in the cluster of rooms that were designated for the fellowship and other important guests of Caras Galadhon. She climbed the seemingly endless amount of stairs before reaching the door. She knocked quietly, and received no response. She knocked louder this time, still hearing nothing. With a shrug, she left the talan, heading north, toward the training grounds, where Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Boromir could often be found. It was a good twenty minute walk from their talans, and now Aria wished that she had brought her cloak. Rubbing her arms to gain warmth, she shivered as another gust of wind flew by.

"Are you cold, lady Aria?" she heard from behind her. Turning around quickly, she saw the familiar face of Haldir. She smiled at him, and much to her surprise, he smiled back. He did not seem as taciturn and stoic as he had upon their last meeting, outside the forest.

"Yes, I'm afraid I didn't anticipate that it would be this cold out today, and I left without my cloak."

He quickly unclipped his grey cloak from about his shoulders and lay it carefully on her, "Please, wear mine. You may return it later. Elves rarely feel the elements, my cloak was purely for decoration."

She murmured a short thanks and pulled the cloak tighter around her shoulders, "Say, I was looking for Aragorn so that he could tell me who this letter was for, but, you're an elf, you could easily tell me!"

She handed him the scroll. He turned it, and read the name on the side, "Ah, it is for Lairion, one of my wardens."

"Oh! That's right, I remember now." she said, taking the letter back, "You wouldn't happen to know where I could find him, would you?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, "I am not entirely sure, but the training grounds would seem a good place to look. The wardens often go there on their spare time to spar and improve their skills. I was on my way there, myself."

"Excellent, then you can take me there." she smiled, continuing forward. They made happy conversation for most of their walk, pausing only to let Aria tie her boot strings. Haldir was apparently quite popular throughout the forest, with many pretty elleths smiling and waving at him as they walked. It was easy to see why; with his long, silky hair, strong features, and unbelievably toned body, Haldir looked strong, noble, and kind. At almost ten inches taller than her, and not as accustomed to keeping in step with her as Boromir, she struggled to keep up with his long strides.

At their pace, after what seemed to be only five minutes of walking, Aria could hear the clanging of swords and the thud of arrows embedding themselves into targets. The sounds of the training grounds. She picked up her pace as she heard the merry laughs of Pippin, Merry, Frodo and Sam. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard another familiar laugh, this one deep and jovial.

"Faster! Watch your feet, Merry!"

"It's not my fault! You have me turning about in circles!"

She heard a shout of surprise, followed by a clang and a thud. A deep groan was followed by peals of laughter,

"That's for trying to take advantage of my height, Boromir!"

As Aria and Haldir turned the corner, she could see past the trees that were previously blocking her view of the grounds, giving Haldir a knowing smile, she picked up her pace and made her way closer to the field.

On the floor, amidst the tangled limbs of four little hobbits, Boromir lay, being punched and kicked mercilessly by little hobbit hands and feet. Aria felt a smile grow on her face. She went over to the side of the grounds, and sat on the small hill there, with the other spectators. She stretched out her legs and crossed them at her ankles, reclining back on her elbows. She tucked the scroll into her pocket, and awaited the end of Boromir's beating. Haldir sat beside her and looked on at his wardens as they practised.

"Do you see the elf over there? With the spear?"

Aria looked over to where he was pointing to. She saw seven elves with spears, "Uhm...which?"

"He has long blond hair...you see? Over by the tree?"

All of the Lórien elves had blond hair. She looked over to the tree; two elves with spears stood by it, talking happily. Aria sighed, "All of you are blond. There are two elves by that tree, the one on the left and the one on the right."

"The one on the right. That is Lairion, should you wish to deliver your message."

"Oh! Thanks, I'll do that soon." she smiled at him, and pulled the cloak around her. Boromir came over to her then, sitting beside her heavily. He exhaled, wiping the sweat off of his brow with his un-gloved hand,

"Good afternoon, Aria." he smiled down at her. She smiled back,

"Good afternoon to you, too. I see you were getting pummelled by the hobbits, there."

He laughed, "Yes, they are far superior warriors." He took off both of his gloves now, and lay them beside him. He fingered her cloak lightly, "Where did you get this?"

She looked over to the cloak, "Oh, Haldir lent it to me. I left my talan without my own, and it was much colder out than I thought. Haldir found me on my way here."

Boromir looked from the cloak, to Haldir, to Aria, and back to the cloak, "I see. My thanks, Marchwarden, for keeping my lady warm."

His thanks lacked sincerity, and Aria struggled to suppress a giggle. Boromir seemed to look at Haldir warily. Patting Boromir's hand, she got up to deliver her letter to Lairion,

"I'm going to give that elf there, Lairion, a message from Ethiriel." she said to him, taking off Haldir's cloak. She handed the cloak back to the elf with a nod of thanks, and set off toward the tree she saw the elf standing beside. As she got closer, she began to feel intimidated by the large group of strong elves. She stood outside their circle, unsure of what to do or say. All of a sudden, two elves turned around and looked down at her,

"You are the lady Aria? Can we be of assistance?"

Aria cleared her throat quickly, trying to sound confident, "Uh, yes, I'm looking for Lairion."

The two elves moved aside, revealing another who was polishing the tip of his spear with a strip of linen. He looked over to her, with a questioning expression,

"Yes?"

"Hello. I have a message for you from Rivendell." she said nervously. He looked puzzled for a moment, and then realisation dawned on him. He dropped the linen cloth in his hands and rushed over to her. She took the small scroll of parchment out of her pocket and handed it to him. He unravelled it quickly, scanning its contents as fervently as if he hadn't spoken to her in years. When he was finished, he looked back to her,

"Thank you, my lady. You have brought me a great gift today." he said sincerely, taking her hand and kissing the top of it. She smiled at him,

"I am glad. I don't know where my travels will take me after we leave Lórien, but if you would like, I would gladly carry a message back to her, should I stop in Rivendell."

His eyes grew wide, "Yes, that would be wonderful. Maybe I take my response to you on the morrow?"

"Of course. You may bring it to my talan. If I am not there, leave it by my door. Haldir knows the way, if you aren't sure."

"My thanks, my lady. Many thanks to you." he smiled at her again, and she walked back to where Boromir was—no longer, sitting. She looked around and spotted him underneath a bent mallorn tree, covered by shadow. She followed his line of sight, and traced it toward Frodo. Boromir's eyes narrowed at the small, oblivious hobbit. Aria stood frozen in her steps. She had known that Boromir would be tempted by the ring, but she had hoped that she had sufficiently distracted him. She stared openly at him, hoping he would realise she was looking, and that it would shake him out of his trance. His eyes met hers briefly, and he glared at her.

Her heart stopped. Never had she seen a look of such disdain on his face. Not toward her, at least. Shocked by his expression, she turned her face away from him. When she looked back, he was gone from her sight, and she could see him walking away from the training ground, and into the direction of their talans. Aria quickly left the training grounds after him, wiping frightened tears from her eyes.

When she got to the edge of the grounds, she could not see his retreating form anymore. She tried to follow after him, but she lost him. She decided, instead, to head to her talan, and do the mending that she was going to start earlier. Some mundane task would help her right now. All the while that she walked, she could think of nothing other than him. So confused by his reaction to her, she was frightened of what this would mean. She knew he would try and take the ring from Frodo, but she had hoped to prevent it...to somehow stop it from happened, and to stop the fate that she knew would befall him if she did not.

Could she bear it? To lose him? She was not sure. She wasn't naïve enough to think that simply because she loved once that she would never love again, but she didn't _want _to love another. This man who had found her in the forest that day, who had brought her out from the shell of a life that she was living in her world, she did not want to love another. She knew how she was thinking—a young girl, barely into adulthood, hopelessly in love with a man twice her age, and twice as fictional as she was.

It was absurd, it was ridiculous, it was something out of a stupid story. But—it was her life now. He was her life now. Without him, she didn't know what she would do in here. Middle-earth seemed emptier than her own world when she thought of it being without Boromir in it. She understood now, why she had resolved to stop his fate from being inevitable.

At long last, cheeks tear-stained and eyes puffy with sadness, she reached her talan. It was growing dark out now, and the sun was setting behind the mallorn trees. It gave the entire city a beautiful glow, no doubt what gave rise to it being called the Golden Wood. Slowly pushing the door open, she walked over to the oil lamp by her bedside. Just as she reached the lamp, something did not feel right in her talan. Preparing herself mentally, she quickly turned on the lamp and spun around, facing the darker corner of the room, where there was a small seating area.

Boromir sat there, staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

"Where have you been?" he spoke harshly. She stopped dead in her tracks,

"I was taking a walk." she began.

"With your elven admirers, no doubt." he spat, scathingly. Aria looked confused. She walked over to him and knelt in front of him,

"What do you mean, Boromir?"

He met her eyes finally. There was no love there, and none of the happiness that they once held. She rested one hand on his knee, and placed the other on his cheek. He turned his face away from her touch,

"Do not think I am a fool. I saw you, first with your precious Haldir—I saw your stolen smiles and looks. Then, you go after Lairion. What would Ethiriel think of you?"

Aria's eyes widened, "That's what you think? I was giving Lairion a letter from Ethiriel! He was overjoyed to hear from her! I assure you, he has no interest in me."

"And? What of Haldir?"

"That was nothing. He lent me his cloak, I even gave it back."

He looked away from her, staring into the lamplight. She tried to pull his face back to her, but he resisted. Shoving her hands off of him, he got up so abruptly that it pushed Aria backward, onto the hard floor.

"You say nothing but lies. This has all been a lie. You try to lure me into your bed, into your heart, all to pull my feet from under me and have me under your control! Do not think I do not know!"

Aria moved away on the floor as he spat his hateful words at her. With that he turned on his heel and left her talan, leaving the door swinging open after him,

"Boromir! Come back!" she yelled after him, scrambling to get up.

A/N: Okay...I know it's been a long time. I'm really sorry. I can't even attribute it to school, I just really didn't feel like writing. But I do now! I'll have another update soon, don't worry :) I know this one was short, but I was trying to ease my way back into this :P


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